Olha Bieliaieva

Mariupol, August 2014 – that was when I first started working on the hotline of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation. That was my entry into the humanitarian sector. At that time, the foundation was evacuating from Donetsk and relocating to Mariupol to assist people from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions already affected by the war.

When the first explosions occurred in Mariupol, we were evacuated to Kyiv, and my role changed. I moved to the direct assistance department, and over time, as a project manager, I had the opportunity to implement projects like “Rehabilitation of Injured Children,” “Now I Hear,” and “Healthy Heart.”

I’ve known about the work of "Responsible Citizens" since 2014. Each year, I was pleasantly impressed by how the organization accumulated experience, scaled up, acted selflessly as a team, and stayed true to its principle – taking a personal approach to each individual.

Each of us understands how important it is to meet like-minded people, with whom it’s an honor to stand side by side. We are united primarily by values such as honesty, dignity, decency, and respect – these are not just empty words for us. These are our principles, which we are ready to uphold together as we help people and fight for a better life for them.