Oksana is 61 and comes from Brovary in the Kyiv region. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, she fled to Bratislava in March 2022. I met her through my project about Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia, and she swept me away with her energy and optimism. Oksana was born in the Kyiv region, lived with her husband in Crimea for a decade, and worked as a teacher of Ukrainian language and literature.
When her three kids grew up, she realized that working at school no longer attracted her, so she changed her profession to become a psychologist. After visiting the labor exchange office, she found out that children’s psychologists were in great demand. She took a job at a kindergarten, gave it a try for a year, and afterward went to study, thus obtaining her second degree.
Initially, her salary was hardly enough to cover the expenses for education. Her former husband was quite unhappy about that, but Oksana had to learn anew how to set and pursue her own goals. Eventually, after 28 years of marriage, they got divorced. When the war started, Oksana did not have a retirement pension yet. She lacked just a few months to accumulate the required 30 years of work experience for better benefits. In 2022, she had to travel back home and work there to reach the threshold.
As a psychologist in the kindergarten, she was walking down to the shelter with the kids each time an air raid started. The kids got used to it very quickly, she says. In Bratislava, Oksana found a part-time job as a psychologist at the Ukrainian and Slovak House. Her clients are children between 2 and 6 years as well as their parents. She started with one day and now works four days per week.
Why did you retire or why are you still working?
Why did you retire?
Why are you still working?
Two years ago, I did not plan on working after retirement. I was going to work until the summer of 2022. My plan was to travel around, visit different countries where my grown-up kids are living, and do more sports because I like it.
When I turned up alone in Bratislava, I started looking for activities to keep myself busy and to stay among people. I started attending various lectures at the Ukrainian and Slovak House in Bratislava. Eventually, I approached the staff and asked if there were any vacancies. I drafted a program for the small kids whose mothers came to the House for therapeutic or study activities and was offered a job. Working with the small kids is about love and joy. I am happy about their achievements.
My life spans between contract renewals that give me an illusion of certainty over some period of time. It helps me not to think about what comes next. I don't have a feeling I can make important decisions now. I wouldn’t mind going back to Ukraine, but there are too many uncertainties. If the contract is over, I might go to Australia to visit my son and to learn English.
Life expectancy 2023
.svg)
