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“I am a single mom from Ukraine with a five-year-old son. To ensure my son has a place to live, I clean houses even though I have a master's degree,” said Alina.
Alina is a 32-year-old Ukrainian refugee from Kharkiv. She holds a master's degree in banking and used to work as a real estate agent back home. Once the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, she escaped to Krakow, Poland with her five-year-old son. But she couldn’t find a job there since she didn’t know the language.
“I don't speak Polish or English, and because of this I am not getting any jobs.”Alina, Ukranian refugee
Like Alina, most women refugees from Ukraine are struggling to meet their basic requirements. They are single-parenting since they were forced to flee with their children, leaving their male spouses and partners behind because of the draft in Ukraine. Caring for young ones makes it impossible for mothers like her to find time to go job-hunting to sustain themselves.
A number of government and private-run daycare centers have opened up to assist Ukrainian mothers.
“We have started this mother and child safe space so that we can provide child care, Polish and English classes for moms, psychological assistance, and job counseling all at the same space,” said Agnieszka Kocur-Smoleń, the director of programming of the Jewish Community Centre of Krakow
“I can leave my son Dari here and take Polish language classes in the room nearby. This way my chances of getting a better job and providing more stability to my son improve,” added Alina.
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