Thanks to the Unbreakable Mom program, Ukrainian women not only regain their desire to live, work, and raise children, but also find renewed hope and strength. Having raised themselves to their feet, they raise the country to its feet: they open spaces for women, become support group facilitators, and pursue a psychology degree to help further. However, the number of women who need support increases every day. The demand for participation in the Unbreakable Mom emotional stabilization program is also growing steadily. And that is why the Masha Fund is seeking and finding ways to provide assistance to more people while maintaining the quality of this assistance.
“We are constantly looking for formats that meet the real needs of women — flexible, affordable, convenient. And at the same time, they are more economically justified for us as organizations”, says Tetiana Muratkina, director of the Masha Fund. “The hybrid format that we are currently implementing allows us not to reduce the depth of support, but on the contrary, to expand the circle of participants and be with them exactly where and when it is most important.”
The updated Unbreakable Mom is a hybrid online and offline program, where psychologists first work with women online. The results of the work are then consolidated in the project’s offline camp in the Carpathians.
“The online week allows a woman to gradually get closer, get used to the atmosphere of trust, and prepare for deeper work. And offline is about hugs, a real meeting, and internal transformations”, explains Tetiana Muratkina. “It’s like two parts of one road: First, a safe introduction at your own pace, and then a deep stay in a friendly circle of women and psychologists.”
To verify the effectiveness of the hybrid format of the program, the innovative mental health diagnostic system, Healthy Mind, conducted a study comparing the condition of Unbreakable Mom participants before the start of work, after the completion of the online part, and at the end of the offline camp. The results were excellent: The psychological state of the participants improved significantly: Depression levels decreased by 63%, PTSD symptoms by 51%, and anxiety by 44%. The study also showed improvements in the social and physical areas of the participants’ lives: they began to feel more secure, wanted to take care of themselves, and found like-minded people among the Unbreakable Mom community.
