Interview with Our COO: Alla Marivtsan
Alla Marivtsan has been on our team for several years. She started out as a volunteer, then became an accountant, later a Life Center Director, and now she’s Chief Operating Officer of Save a Life International in Ukraine.
As a social worker prior to joining Save a Life International, she brings the same heart to new projects. During the first year of the war in Ukraine, she personally transported hundreds of women from Ukraine to Romania in vans, saving them and their children from the war. Besides executing on her duties as a Chief Operating Officer, she also currently studies Non-Profit Organizational Management at Ukraine Baptist Theological Seminary, and raises two beautiful children.
We were able to spend some time with her and get her perspectives…
Q: What does your role entail?
“We provide support during crisis pregnancies, consult with expecting mothers considering abortion, post-abortion consultations, psychiatric assistance, and guide mothers through postpartum if needed. We also host educational events at schools and other higher education institutions on a frequent basis. However, our primary focus is on pregnant women who we continue to support for up to 3 years after the child's birth, or until the mother is able to provide for herself and the child.
“At the moment, I oversee operations in several active Life Centers throughout Ukraine; in Poltava, Lviv, Khmelnytskyi, Odesa, Chernivtsi, and Zaporizhzhia. We also have Life Centers in Poland and the United States.”
Q: Do you only work with women in crisis circumstances?
”No, we also get to work with many people in different life stages who are in need. In reality, many women are burnt out from all the responsibilities that come with being a mother, and are in desperate need of a way to recharge. So we recently decided to become a hub for this kind of recharging and host small groups that we call “little gatherings” where moms can come to socialize and just hang out. We invite nail technicians, hairdressers, make-up artists, and we recently started fitness classes, all for free. We also have a program called “Learn and Earn” for pregnant women. Soon-to-be mothers take a ten lesson course, and with the completion of each lesson, they earn virtual points that they can later spend on clothes, groceries, and other baby products at our store.”
Q: What is a Life Center like?
“The Life Center itself is equipped with everything we might need. We have a room where we hold events / arts & crafts, a play room, an office for sessions with licensed psychologists and counseling sessions, a living room, conference room, a storage room for Learn and Earn program supplies, a kitchen, bathrooms, and management offices.”
Q: How did Russia’s invasion into Ukraine affect operations?
“February 24, 2022 brought many changes to our work. We aimed our focus on helping the Eastern parts of Ukraine and its refugees, since that is where the worst fighting was taking place and the need was greatest. We distributed humanitarian aid and provided places to stay overnight for those in need. During the first year of war, we sent about 28 tons of humanitarian aid to our Life Centers in Zaporizhzhia, Poltava, and to our partners in Kherson that hosted many refugees. Those in Chernivtsi, farther away from the fighting, were provided with material and psychological help. We also began partnering with and connecting our clients to a group called Right to Protection, which offers support solving various documentation issues for individuals and families.
“It was very difficult, physically and mentally…especially hearing the stories of all these women on a daily basis, over and over. We received a phone call that a girl from Kharkiv who was 32 weeks pregnant was driving out of the city in a caravan with some relatives. They were driving in 5 cars, the first three passed checkpoints safely but everyone in the last two were shot and killed. Her husband, mother, and mother in law were killed right before her eyes. We were able to receive her once she arrived, and helped to get her admitted to the hospital due to the stress she’s undergone. She stayed there for quite a while before being able to move on. She now lives in Kyiv with her newborn.
“A different client at the Khmelnitskiy Life Center was fleeing her home 14 weeks pregnant with her six year old child. She got to the checkpoint outside the city and even showed her papers, but all she got in response from the Russian soldiers was: “You have exactly 50 seconds to drive…we’re playing Russian Roulette with you.” 50 seconds later, the soldiers started to shoot and did damage her car’s trunk which was riddled with bullet holes. She and her child were lucky enough to get to the Ukrainian checkpoint where they received help and were guided to our Life Center. There are so many more stories like this….”
Q: How many people are on the team?
“In total, there are about 100 staff and volunteers throughout Ukraine. Each Life Center averages around 20 individuals who are dedicated to its mission.”
Q: What gives you strength and motivation to keep going?
“At first you work on adrenalin, but then comes a moment when you burn out and need to recharge. It’s at this point that the team comes to the rescue. Everything that we do, we do together. We wouldn’t be able to do any of this alone.”