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Why should I fundraise for Red Cross?

You will be racing for people like Olena.

Olena fled the conflict in Ukraine earlier this year, leaving behind her home, job and friends. She has found safety in Australia where her daughter and granddaughter live. But building a new life in a country, where she can’t speak the language and knows no one else, has been hard.

“It was hard, both mentally and physically… My life rhythm changed; my self-confidence faltered; I used to be self-sufficient,” she says.

Then she found our Connected Women program. It helps migrant women overcome isolation and feel safe, supported, and valued as they build a life in a new country. Olena says the first time she came to a Connected Women workshop “people stopped to look at me; I saw those kind eyes, and I was welcomed”

“Human interaction heals the soul. … I’m grateful we found this program. I’m glad there’s people, a community where I can come, and they’ll understand me.”

Through Connected Women she has not only found friends, but she has found her confidence, independence and identity again. She is now learning English, and hopes to start volunteering in the community, get her driver’s licence and eventually, a job.