I have just returned from Ukraine and Romania, where I saw first-hand the sadness and ongoing struggle faced by refugees and people displaced by the war.
At the same time, I was struck by the astounding resilience and courage displayed by many of the women I met, and by the critical role of local communities in supporting them to rebuild their lives.
As we mark the one-year anniversary of Russia invading Ukraine, there are more than 8 million refugees from Ukraine recorded across Europe and an additional 5.3 million people displaced within Ukraine itself. For now, returning home is too dangerous – or there is no home to return to.
It can be hard to comprehend such vast and staggering figures, statistics which we’ve seen and heard on the news throughout the last year. But behind each of these numbers is a deeply personal story.
During my visit, I met with many women who have been forced to abandon their old lives and forge new ones elsewhere in Ukraine, Romania or other neighbouring countries.
Many have been left as single parents and are often responsible for two, or even three different generations. They are caring for children, older parents and in-laws whilst carrying the weight of a new life, making the decisions on their own that come along with this, whilst also learning a new language and coping with being separated from their husbands and partners.
I remember, in particular, a woman called Olena from Eastern Ukraine, who I met at a cookery class in Uzhhorod (a city in western Ukraine) with a local support group, Neemiya Ukraine.
The class enables displaced women to come together, twice a week, and learn local recipes (they differ dramatically from East to West) so that they might be able to get a job in a bakery or set up their own business in catering, for example.
As a mother to eight children, including four foster children, Olena had been through an incredibly traumatic experience. She recently lost her husband in the war.
This brave woman is the same age as me, and so I felt that very deeply. Just how much strength and courage you would need to become a single parent to your children and move across the country – where you don’t know anybody.
She lit up telling me how the classes had helped her to connect with other displaced women and feel safe in sharing her grief and trauma.
Being part of a new community, doing an activity with other women who supported her, had made a huge difference to her mental health. She was hopeful for the future and spoke of how the community in Uzhhorod had extended a warm welcome to her and her children.
Olena’s story is one of so many, and shows the impact of support at a local level in helping women rebuild their lives and look after their families.
Aid through essential supplies (food, water, medicine and clothing), accommodation, counselling and cash assistance remains of vital importance, but it is also critical to scale up community programmes that help refugees and internally displaced people feel included, safe and independent.
The humanitarian aid and funding to local partners provided by organisations like UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, helps many women like Olena, as well as other people displaced by devastating war.
In the past year, more than 4 million people have been supported by UNHCR inside Ukraine, as well as hundreds of thousands of refugees from Ukraine who have received support across Europe.
The needs are vast. Inside Ukraine, we support relief such as repairs for damaged homes, generators to help keep schools and hospitals running, and shelter for displaced families.
For refugee families across Europe, a cash assistance programme helps mothers buy basic essentials when they first arrive after fleeing. Access to trauma counselling and psychosocial support are also vital.
As the war enters its second year, there is still so much that needs to be done. Every week, more people from Ukraine are being forced to flee this brutal war. Women like Olena, and their families, need for us to continue to stand with them.
Every refugee and displaced person that I met shares the same hope, for this war to end and to return to their homes, their lives and their loved ones.
That remains very raw and real for the millions of Ukrainians whose lives have been torn apart by this war. Until then, the impact of giving is so profound and even small interventions can change lives.
:: Emma Cherniavsky is the CEO of UK for UNHCR, find out more about their work at unrefugees.org.uk. Follow her on Twitter at @emmacherny