Foundation Founders
Oksana SIVAK
Project Director
Dr. Oksana Syvak is a co-founder and Director of the International Institute of Postgraduate Education (Kyiv). A physician by training, she is the driving force behind the creation of the physical rehabilitation system in Ukraine and a co-author of the Law of Ukraine “On Rehabilitation in Healthcare.” In 2023–2024, she served as Deputy Minister for Veterans Affairs for European Integration.
She actively participates in interagency and governmental working groups under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on the development of psychological support, mental health, and standards for psychological education. She works systematically to implement evidence-based approaches in psychological practice and to train specialists capable of addressing the consequences of war.
Olga ZAPOROJETS
Foundation Director
Professor at Regent University
President of the Association for Psychological Counseling and Trauma Therapy
Supervisor and consultant.
Dr. Olga Zaporozhets is an experienced specialist in mental health and trauma therapy. She holds a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from the International Institute of Postgraduate Education. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor at Regent University, where she leads educational programs in mental health and trauma therapy.
Dr. Zaporozhets has extensive experience in developing counseling programs and coordinating cross-cultural initiatives. She plays an important role in providing mental health services to Ukrainian communities during the war. Her work integrates global best practices to advance mental health support and education in Ukraine and beyond.
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Foundation’s Focus Areas
Psychological support in grief and bereavement
The war has taken thousands of lives — more than 45,000 fallen defenders and over 60,000 missing. Behind each of these losses is a mother, a wife, a child, trying every day to go on with their life in unbearable pain. They need more than support. They need professional, compassionate help in coping with grief.
There are tens of thousands of such families. And Ukraine lacks specialists trained to work with grief: grief is often ignored, silenced, or, unintentionally, made even more traumatic.
We have been training psychologists to work with grief in accordance with international standards. We have also been preparing other helping professionals (e.g., doctors, teachers, social workers, volunteers, chaplains, and first responders), who are often the first to hear the cry of pain.
Another key area of our foundation is psychological counseling for widows, mothers, and other family members of the fallen. These people have the right to support. Without waiting. Free of charge.
Your help is a contribution to what keeps the country from falling – a contribution to life that continues even after loss.
Support this program so that pain does not remain unheard.
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Psychological support for men’s mental health
A war leaves not only visible wounds, but also deep, invisible ones. In Ukraine, men are still expected to keep it to themselves, endure, and “be strong” — even when everything inside is broken.
Men seek psychological help two times less often than women, yet they die at a younger age 3-4 times more often. Behind these numbers are lives that could have been saved.
We are launching a campaign to change this culture of silence. We want to make it acceptable and expected for men to talk about pain. Every man, be it a veteran, a soldier, a father, or a son, should know that asking for help is not shameful but a strength.
Join us - through a donation, participation, a repost, a public statement, or by leading through your own example.
Every contribution you make becomes someone’s point of support. And sometimes, it’s a chance at life.
Project “We are By Your Side”
“We Are By Your Side” is a charitable project providing free psychological support to women who have experienced sexual violence during the war in Ukraine.
We create a safe space where women can receive professional psychological care, work through war trauma and the consequences of violence, and rebuild a sense of safety and stability.
One of our key goals is to reduce the stigma around seeking psychological help and to raise awareness about the availability of free psychological support in Ukraine.
By supporting this project, you help us provide psychological care to women affected by sexual violence and make their path to recovery accessible and safe.