In this episode of the We Are PoWEr Podcast, we speak with Marianna Vaszilyiv, the driving force behind United for Ukraine an organisation that supports displaced Ukrainians with employment opportunities, courses, and essential services since the 2022 Russian invasion.
Marianna shares how what started as a two-week support initiative quickly evolved into a long-term, high-impact operation. Drawing on her multicultural heritage Ukrainian, Hungarian, Polish, and Jewish, as well as her academic background Marianna has become a powerful advocate for Ukrainian culture and humanitarian support.
Chapters:
How United for Ukraine grew beyond a two-week pilot to a full-scale support organisation
The employment success rate of Ukrainians in the UK under sponsorship schemes
Insights into the 2023 Game Changer Award and being named on the 2025 Future List at the #NPWAwards
Why businesses and individuals must continue to support displaced professionals
The lasting power of cultural exchange and unity
To find out more or offer you support for United for Ukraine follow the link: https://www.unitedforukraine.org.uk/
Find out more about We Are PoWEr here. 💫
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, hello and welcome to the we Are Power
podcast.
If this is your first time here, the we Are Power podcast is
the podcast for you, your careerand your life.
We release an episode everysingle Monday with listeners in
over 60 countries worldwide,where you'll hear personal life
stories, top-notch industryadvice and key leadership
insight from amazing role models.
(00:21):
As we Are Power is the umbrellabrand to Northern Power Women
Awards, which celebrateshundreds of female role models
and advocates every year.
This is where you can hearstories from all of our awards
alumni and stay up to date witheverything MPW Awards and we Are
Power Well, welcome.
(00:47):
Today, I am delighted to bejoined by the wonderful Mariana
Vasilev, who is basically Queenof United for Ukraine and this
is something that you've beenpart of since the start which is
an organization which iscommitted to finding work and
support for Ukrainian nationals.
(01:07):
How has it been?
It's been like three.
Where are we now, three yearssince the war started?
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Hi everyone.
Thank you, simone, for invitingme, thank you for arranging
everything this far and I'm veryglad to be here.
I'm happy to see you and thankyou for introducing me in that
way.
I'm trying to be keeping thisinformation I mean not the queen
, because and it's not only mewho working on the project is
(01:37):
the whole team behind and, yes,it's been three years since the
war started, since the invasionstarted in 2022, in February,
and we launched the projectUnited for Ukraine in 2022 in
response to the Russian invasionin Ukraine, and it was planned
(01:57):
as a trial project for two weeksand then two months.
And then here we are threeyears after that, three years
plus, and we are still operating, we are still supporting people
, we are still strong, we arestill determined to win and we
are still feeling the support ofBritish people across the UK
(02:19):
and we are very grateful for.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
And how many nationals have you helped and
supported and aided to thispoint?
Speaker 2 (02:28):
So we try to keep records of everything we do.
However, it can be quitedifficult because the program is
voluntary and some people donot come back to us feedbacking
what's what happening in theirlife.
But last year we hit the figureof 6,000 people who we managed
(02:49):
to help either with employmentcourses, advice, signposting,
referring them to our partners,third parties, providers and
it's been 6,000 people so far.
And what do you need more of?
We do need your support becausethe war is still on, people are
(03:12):
still arriving and we need morepeople to be involved in
providing employment forUkrainians, because historically
we are fighters for Ukrainians.
Because historically we arefighters.
We are used to be fighting forour independency, for our life,
for our families and so on.
(03:33):
And when we arrived I'm sayingwe, but I mean embodying the
whole nation when we arrived tothe UK, we were determined to
find a job, to find a securedfuture for our children.
So we need more jobs, we needmore support from local
businesses to hire Ukrainians.
As per Home Office figures,more than 79%, as far as I
(03:58):
remember, percent of Ukrainianswho arrived under both schemes
in the UK are in employment,which is an incredible figure,
and they say that's a bit higherthan across the whole UK.
If we are talking about somemigrant groups arriving to the
UK, which is good and peoplewant to work, people are happy
(04:19):
to be employed, people want todo something for their living,
not to sit and wait for thegovernment to bring some support
for them.
So we need to share awarenessabout us.
We need to share informationthat we have unique specialists
in different fields, and ifbusinesses, local authorities,
(04:39):
can be involved more insupporting programs like ours
and different charity projectsacross the UK, that would be
amazing.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
And let's take it back to.
You're born, obviously, inUkraine, you are part, as we
were chatting just before.
You're part Ukrainian, partHungarian, part Polish, and
you've got some Jewishconnection in there as well.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
So yeah, I was born in ukraine long time ago.
Not at all, yeah, and I wasborn in western ukraine, but due
to some historical events, thewestern ukraine was involved in
many historical displacement ofpeople across the west of uk,
(05:26):
poland, hungary and Slovakia.
That's why all nationalitiesover there are blended and I've
got different roots.
I've got yes, I've got somePolish blood in me.
I've got some Hungarian bloodin me, but most of it is
Ukrainian and I'm of Jewishheritage.
I haven't found out yet how ithappened, but I'm proud to be a
mixture of all these bloods andhaving all these call of
(05:51):
ancestors in me, because,whatever I am, I was shaped
through these historical changesand I do feel this call in my
blood now, especially now whenthe war is happening in my
country.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Tell me what it was like for you growing up, because
obviously people are very awareof Ukraine, but there's the
perception always been war,always been a fight.
But what was it like for yougrowing up?
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Right.
I was a very naughty child andmy parents were always having
issues with me because mybehavior at school was not the
best one and my teachers weretrying to get me to be more
obedient, which never worked,and I was trying always to
(06:41):
express myself, find myself indifferent areas, and I took part
in different drama clubs,hiking clubs.
I was trying to perceive theworld through my curiosity and I
managed to learn a lot throughthat way, but nevertheless I
managed to finish my complete myschool studies quite well and I
(07:05):
did my studies in theuniversity in the Western
Ukraine.
So first education I obtainedin Ukraine was Romanian and
Germanic languages I'm a teacherof English and French and then
the second one is journalism,because I wanted to be a
journalist, but then I decidedto learn languages first because
(07:26):
I had this ability to learnlanguages easily, and then I
completed my journalism degreeafter that.
So I got two degrees fromUkraine and I've been working as
a teacher of English and Frenchfor 13 years, and then I've
been working as a journalist fora couple of years in Ukraine,
which did help me to broaden myoutlook, get better
(07:50):
understanding of how processesin the world work, and this is
how I was shaped.
But, looking back, as youmentioned, ukraine was in war
quite a while and this is whatshaped me as a person, because
throughout the centuries, if youlook back to the history of
(08:13):
Ukraine, due to some historicalprocesses, having a neighbor
like Russia, it's alwaysdifficult not to be a fighter.
Fighter, and this is how, how Iam, and I'm still learning.
I'm open to everything new inmy life and I'm thinking about
doing another degree in the UK.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
So never say never.
What do you think you might do?
Because you we talked um justbefore we we came on on the the
comfy couch, about being almostat the the edge.
You talked about kind beingalmost at the edge.
You talked about kind of beingat the edge.
What's the next progression foryou?
Speaker 2 (08:51):
I'm quite open what I can do in my life because it
feels like I'm trying to beleading my life myself, but
sometimes some events arepredetermined.
It feels like I'm not a fatalist, but sometimes it happens.
It happens what it shouldhappen, this is, this is the
feeling I've got sometimes andI'm just loving this to leading
(09:13):
me further.
So when I arrived to the UK 11years ago, I was working in
school, first as a TA and thenas a teacher, and that I did my.
I confirmed my teaching degreein the UK and I did masters in
languages in secondary educationin the UK.
That was my third education andspecial needs.
(09:34):
And now I'm thinking aboutdoing, potentially, project
management, because I'm leadingthe project and I do have
expertise, I do have someknowledge, I do have
understanding, but I still feelthat I need some more theory in
supporting my work better,because, being a perfectionist,
(09:55):
I need to be taking care of allthe bits and bobs, of all the
parts of the work I do, andthat's why I'm thinking about
doing doing this degree as well,on top of what I'm doing.
My husband doesn't know aboutthat yet.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Spoiler alert on the podcast.
For sure, what brought you tothe UK back in 2014?
Speaker 2 (10:14):
So my husband had a job offer in the UK and he was
the first comer to go and tryhow it will work.
It worked well and then me andmy older son joined him for half
a year.
So my my child didn't even wantto unpack his bag under his bag
because he wanted to go back.
But then it happened that wegot settled quite well.
(10:39):
I found job pretty quick and wedecided to say we decided to
give it a go for a year, threeyears, and then it's been 11
years since then and I'm happythat we made this choice,
because this is the country ofmine.
I feel home here, because theysay I mean, I'm a person of the
(11:00):
world and my home is where myheart is, and my heart is now
here.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
And what have you learned most about yourself in
the last not just 11 years sinceyou've been here, but in the
last three years, because you'vecome out of your comfort zone
to drive and lead a project witha great team as part of United
Ukraine.
But it's not just the team, isit?
It's those wider stakeholdersout there local authorities, big
(11:26):
businesses, individuals.
What have you learned mostabout yourself being part of
that growing community?
Speaker 2 (11:35):
I learned about myself that, whatever you do, do
the first step and then thepath will lie ahead and it will
work and you can do.
Yes, you can, yes, you will,yes, you will be able to.
Because, looking back, it wasvery scaring just getting the
(11:58):
understanding of the horizonsopen before, but now it looks
like we managed to do quite agood job getting so many people
involved, and the more youstretch yourself, the more you
challenge yourself, the more youcan achieve and the more you
can ignite and encourage peoplearound you.
(12:19):
And that is probably the mostrewarding and rewarding thing of
our work, because I feel thatpeople manage to change the life
of theirs and, at the end ofthe day, you get the message
thank you for changing my life.
That was the first message.
I was crying because, in 2022,and I thought, oh dear, I'm the
(12:40):
life changer.
What a role, what a title to bea life changer for someone.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
This is very honorable, to be doing this job,
what we are doing now and youtalk about life changes, but
you're also been announced onthe 2023 game changer list, um
northern power women awards.
We recognized you and yourwonderful colleague oxana with
an award back in 2023 and thenequally this year at the 2025
(13:10):
Northern Power Women Awards.
You're on a future list, soyou've gone from life changer
you are a game changer in motionto multi-award winner.
Is that something that sitscomfortably with you?
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Right, let's start with the Northern Power Women
Awards, going back to 2023.
I'm sorry I have to mentionthat because that was one of the
biggest surprises of my lifeProbably my life is very
generous for surprises duringrecent years and when we visited
the event as guests, just tocome for a dinner okay, yes,
(13:44):
here we are.
And then we were announced witha special award and invited to
the stage, that was a big shock,but that was a big reward of
the work we do.
And standing on the stage withyou and looking into the eyes of
the audience, I understood that, probably how pathetic it
(14:06):
sounds, we've've got a mission,a mission with great people like
you and other like-mindedpersons.
We do have a mission in thisworld for some reasons.
We were there for some reasonsfor these people.
We met you for some reasons.
We met your team for somereasons.
Everything is happening for areason and getting this award it
(14:30):
.
It was very honorable award andthat was one of the greatest
achievements in my life, becauseI understand what the scale of
the work you do and being inthis circle, in this bubble of
like-minded people, it'ssomething incredible.
Feel that and after that itwent like very smoothly, award
(14:52):
after award.
So I was awarded by.
I was a finalist for leadershipaward in London Institute for
Leadership.
Then we were across the north.
Some more awards.
I don't remember all of them,oh dear it's a big trophy
cabinet, mariana.
I've got a special shelf at homewith all the trophies and
(15:13):
awards and but the thing is I'mnot working for the awards.
If they are, if they, if we dohow, that's good.
That means that we're doingsomething right and we are doing
something well.
But having got our workrecognized, it's something great
because it shows that we aredoing this well and it helps to
(15:40):
share information and awarenessand raise awareness about the
project we do and the amount ofpeople we manage to help and the
amount of people we still weare still, the amount of people
we are still helping and we willhelp in the future, which is
incredible.
I mean, having an award is agood thing, but having an award
and the job you do as a part ofwhat you do, this is more
(16:02):
incredible.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
And you talk about, you know, sort of being that
role model and one of the rolesthat you take really seriously
as well, is about being theadvocate for the culture of
Ukraine, whether it be throughcostume, whether it be through
food, whether it be throughlanguage, whether it be about
cultural exchanges, and one ofthe biggest events in recent
(16:26):
years was a couple of years agoin Liverpool, which was when
Liverpool hosted Eurovision onbehalf of Ukraine.
What a moment in time that was,isn't it?
We saw a lot of each otherduring that time.
There was a Eurovision village,a Ukrainian village that sat
alongside the pop-up up at thepier head.
(16:48):
There was the event itself.
It was quite overwhelming,wasn't it?
That was everything that wentalongside it.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Yes, that was a month in my life, one of the, again,
most most incredible.
Have you spotted?
Most incredible things in mylife are connected with you.
So it was a feast of Ukrainianculture.
It was a feast of Ukrainianheritage, of Ukrainian music
artists, and that was the timeof unity of Ukrainian people and
British people and people overthe world, because there were a
lot of people and people of theworld, because there were a lot
(17:24):
of people from all over theworld in Liverpool, and that was
something amazing to be a partof this grand show and this
grand month and I felt homeagain because it felt like it's
not Liverpool.
It felt like my own city ofLviv and or Kyiv or any other
(17:46):
Ukrainian cities, becauseeverything was covered in
Ukrainian colors, flags, peoplewere smiling, people wanted to
take selfies, pictures with usand we felt like we are
celebrities walking through thetowns, especially while having
Ukrainian costumes on, and thatwas amazing.
(18:07):
Just thinking back, one of thegreatest events we attended
obviously was Gala show forEurovision, being guests being
invited as special guests.
It was very honorable thing tobe at.
And another thing that was theevent you organized for us at
the Navy ship while flying theUkrainian flag on the Royal ship
(18:32):
.
I know the permission was notvery easy to be obtained.
I know and I appreciate throughthe hoops you jumped to get
this done for us and fororganizing that and gathering
ukrainian guests, making themfeel welcomed and warm, and that
(18:52):
was something incredible and Istill it found a very warm place
in my heart and, thinking back,I mean if in the time of sorrow
I'm thinking there are stillpeople who will support and who
are with us, and then I say tomyself you have no right to give
(19:14):
up and then you have tocontinue going.
Thank you.
And thinking about culture.
Ukrainian culture is very deepand old and we do have a lot to
offer to the world to learn andshare with the culture and we
are proudly sharing this now.
And we do have a lot ofattention from people learning
(19:38):
about Ukrainian traditions,customs, ukrainian embroidery,
ukrainian flower crowns, and I'mproudly using this element as
promoting of Ukrainian culturethroughout the world and in the
UK as well.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
There's so many highlights during that period.
We talked about the time on theRoyal Navy ship HMS Mersey.
Captain Mitch lit up the shipin blue and yellow.
He called me one night going.
Where am I going?
Ship in blue and yellow.
He called me one night going.
Where am I going to get blueand yellow lights from?
In a time during there was somuch.
We hosted a networking event onthere.
But do you have a highlight?
I know we were.
We were swapping photos earlier.
I know there's a little cheekyone there with you and you and
(20:17):
Oksana and Sam Ryder, but butwas there a real highlight?
Was there a real favoriteperson that you met?
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Again, you're my favorite person I met.
Thinking about my favoriteperson we met a lot of
incredible people since 2022, ifwe are focusing on the past
invasion, post-invasion eventsbut we have people who are very
(20:49):
dedicated to the war we fight inand to the idea we fight for.
So I would mention, probably,people of the North, because I
have a possibility to compare Ihave been living in London for
seven years and I moved toManchester and I should have
(21:15):
done this before because I dolove people of the North, I do
love the vibes, I do love theopenness of people, the
sincerity, the dignity they dotheir work with and I'm really
glad that I belong to the North.
And talking about people inparticular, I'm thinking about
(21:37):
your team again.
If we talk about Liverpool, Ihave to mention the mayor of
Liverpool, billy Camp, who is anincredible supporter of any
Ukrainian us and support we need.
Who is fundraising and who issupporting different fundraising
(22:05):
uh events, opportunities andprojects and um, he's amazing.
Probably he's one of the mostwho can um, who helps us to
fight here.
But if we are talking aboutpeople overall, these are just
general British people.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
And what advice?
If you look back to disobedientMariana as a child unsure what
you're going to do or how you'regoing to play by the rules what
advice would you give her?
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Be careful, but dare to try.
Don't be afraid to try One morestep and one more step and you
will get there, because if Ihaven't tried so many steps and
if I haven't made so manymistakes, I would have never
(23:03):
been where I am now, becauseit's better to do and then feel
sorry for the mistake ratherthan not doing anything and
feeling sorry for not gettingwhatever you want to get.
Dare to be, dare to try, dareto jump and move.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
Now that is a t-shirt moment and a moment for a
slogan on a bag, if ever.
So, marianna, you're amazing.
The work that you're doing andcontinue to drive is phenomenal.
We'll put the details aroundUnited for Ukraine on the show
notes so people can get involved.
And please do, even if it'sjust one small thing.
The one small things can alladd up and, like Marianna says,
(23:43):
says it's about daring to try.
I wish you well and yourendeavors for your next degree.
I mean you know come on uh.
Whatever you put your mind to,you will achieve.
It's an honor to know you uh.
I've loved uh.
Myself and my husband, northernpower man rob, love being in
company.
So thank you so much and keepdoing what you're doing.
(24:05):
You are totally awesome.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Thank you very much for inviting, thank you for
inspiring me, because you're oneof the inspirers, and thank you
for your great support, notonly your support, your team's
support, your husband's support,but all people of the United
Kingdom.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Subscribe on YouTube, apple, amazon Music, spotify or
wherever you get your podcasts.
Support but all people of theUnited Kingdom.
Thank you.
Hello, hello and welcome to the we Are Power
podcast.
If this is your first time here, the we Are Power podcast is
the podcast for you, your careerand your life.
We release an episode everysingle Monday with listeners in
over 60 countries worldwide,where you'll hear personal life
stories, top-notch industryadvice and key leadership
insight from amazing role models.
(00:21):
As we Are Power is the umbrellabrand to Northern Power Women
Awards, which celebrateshundreds of female role models
and advocates every year.
This is where you can hearstories from all of our awards
alumni and stay up to date witheverything MPW Awards and we Are
Power Well, welcome.
(00:47):
Today, I am delighted to bejoined by the wonderful Mariana
Vasilev, who is basically Queenof United for Ukraine and this
is something that you've beenpart of since the start which is
an organization which iscommitted to finding work and
support for Ukrainian nationals.
(01:07):
How has it been?
It's been like three.
Where are we now, three yearssince the war started?
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Hi everyone.
Thank you, simone, for invitingme, thank you for arranging
everything this far and I'm veryglad to be here.
I'm happy to see you and thankyou for introducing me in that
way.
I'm trying to be keeping thisinformation I mean not the queen
, because and it's not only mewho working on the project is
(01:37):
the whole team behind and, yes,it's been three years since the
war started, since the invasionstarted in 2022, in February,
and we launched the projectUnited for Ukraine in 2022 in
response to the Russian invasionin Ukraine, and it was planned
(01:57):
as a trial project for two weeksand then two months.
And then here we are threeyears after that, three years
plus, and we are still operating, we are still supporting people
, we are still strong, we arestill determined to win and we
are still feeling the support ofBritish people across the UK
(02:19):
and we are very grateful for.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
And how many nationals have you helped and
supported and aided to thispoint?
Speaker 2 (02:28):
So we try to keep records of everything we do.
However, it can be quitedifficult because the program is
voluntary and some people donot come back to us feedbacking
what's what happening in theirlife.
But last year we hit the figureof 6,000 people who we managed
(02:49):
to help either with employmentcourses, advice, signposting,
referring them to our partners,third parties, providers and
it's been 6,000 people so far.
And what do you need more of?
We do need your support becausethe war is still on, people are
(03:12):
still arriving and we need morepeople to be involved in
providing employment forUkrainians, because historically
we are fighters for Ukrainians.
Because historically we arefighters.
We are used to be fighting forour independency, for our life,
for our families and so on.
(03:33):
And when we arrived I'm sayingwe, but I mean embodying the
whole nation when we arrived tothe UK, we were determined to
find a job, to find a securedfuture for our children.
So we need more jobs, we needmore support from local
businesses to hire Ukrainians.
As per Home Office figures,more than 79%, as far as I
(03:58):
remember, percent of Ukrainianswho arrived under both schemes
in the UK are in employment,which is an incredible figure,
and they say that's a bit higherthan across the whole UK.
If we are talking about somemigrant groups arriving to the
UK, which is good and peoplewant to work, people are happy
(04:19):
to be employed, people want todo something for their living,
not to sit and wait for thegovernment to bring some support
for them.
So we need to share awarenessabout us.
We need to share informationthat we have unique specialists
in different fields, and ifbusinesses, local authorities,
(04:39):
can be involved more insupporting programs like ours
and different charity projectsacross the UK, that would be
amazing.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
And let's take it back to.
You're born, obviously, inUkraine, you are part, as we
were chatting just before.
You're part Ukrainian, partHungarian, part Polish, and
you've got some Jewishconnection in there as well.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
So yeah, I was born in ukraine long time ago.
Not at all, yeah, and I wasborn in western ukraine, but due
to some historical events, thewestern ukraine was involved in
many historical displacement ofpeople across the west of uk,
(05:26):
poland, hungary and Slovakia.
That's why all nationalitiesover there are blended and I've
got different roots.
I've got yes, I've got somePolish blood in me.
I've got some Hungarian bloodin me, but most of it is
Ukrainian and I'm of Jewishheritage.
I haven't found out yet how ithappened, but I'm proud to be a
mixture of all these bloods andhaving all these call of
(05:51):
ancestors in me, because,whatever I am, I was shaped
through these historical changesand I do feel this call in my
blood now, especially now whenthe war is happening in my
country.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Tell me what it was like for you growing up, because
obviously people are very awareof Ukraine, but there's the
perception always been war,always been a fight.
But what was it like for yougrowing up?
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Right.
I was a very naughty child andmy parents were always having
issues with me because mybehavior at school was not the
best one and my teachers weretrying to get me to be more
obedient, which never worked,and I was trying always to
(06:41):
express myself, find myself indifferent areas, and I took part
in different drama clubs,hiking clubs.
I was trying to perceive theworld through my curiosity and I
managed to learn a lot throughthat way, but nevertheless I
managed to finish my complete myschool studies quite well and I
(07:05):
did my studies in theuniversity in the Western
Ukraine.
So first education I obtainedin Ukraine was Romanian and
Germanic languages I'm a teacherof English and French and then
the second one is journalism,because I wanted to be a
journalist, but then I decidedto learn languages first because
(07:26):
I had this ability to learnlanguages easily, and then I
completed my journalism degreeafter that.
So I got two degrees fromUkraine and I've been working as
a teacher of English and Frenchfor 13 years, and then I've
been working as a journalist fora couple of years in Ukraine,
which did help me to broaden myoutlook, get better
(07:50):
understanding of how processesin the world work, and this is
how I was shaped.
But, looking back, as youmentioned, ukraine was in war
quite a while and this is whatshaped me as a person, because
throughout the centuries, if youlook back to the history of
(08:13):
Ukraine, due to some historicalprocesses, having a neighbor
like Russia, it's alwaysdifficult not to be a fighter.
Fighter, and this is how, how Iam, and I'm still learning.
I'm open to everything new inmy life and I'm thinking about
doing another degree in the UK.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
So never say never.
What do you think you might do?
Because you we talked um justbefore we we came on on the the
comfy couch, about being almostat the the edge.
You talked about kind beingalmost at the edge.
You talked about kind of beingat the edge.
What's the next progression foryou?
Speaker 2 (08:51):
I'm quite open what I can do in my life because it
feels like I'm trying to beleading my life myself, but
sometimes some events arepredetermined.
It feels like I'm not a fatalist, but sometimes it happens.
It happens what it shouldhappen, this is, this is the
feeling I've got sometimes andI'm just loving this to leading
(09:13):
me further.
So when I arrived to the UK 11years ago, I was working in
school, first as a TA and thenas a teacher, and that I did my.
I confirmed my teaching degreein the UK and I did masters in
languages in secondary educationin the UK.
That was my third education andspecial needs.
(09:34):
And now I'm thinking aboutdoing, potentially, project
management, because I'm leadingthe project and I do have
expertise, I do have someknowledge, I do have
understanding, but I still feelthat I need some more theory in
supporting my work better,because, being a perfectionist,
(09:55):
I need to be taking care of allthe bits and bobs, of all the
parts of the work I do, andthat's why I'm thinking about
doing doing this degree as well,on top of what I'm doing.
My husband doesn't know aboutthat yet.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Spoiler alert on the podcast.
For sure, what brought you tothe UK back in 2014?
Speaker 2 (10:14):
So my husband had a job offer in the UK and he was
the first comer to go and tryhow it will work.
It worked well and then me andmy older son joined him for half
a year.
So my my child didn't even wantto unpack his bag under his bag
because he wanted to go back.
But then it happened that wegot settled quite well.
(10:39):
I found job pretty quick and wedecided to say we decided to
give it a go for a year, threeyears, and then it's been 11
years since then and I'm happythat we made this choice,
because this is the country ofmine.
I feel home here, because theysay I mean, I'm a person of the
(11:00):
world and my home is where myheart is, and my heart is now
here.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
And what have you learned most about yourself in
the last not just 11 years sinceyou've been here, but in the
last three years, because you'vecome out of your comfort zone
to drive and lead a project witha great team as part of United
Ukraine.
But it's not just the team, isit?
It's those wider stakeholdersout there local authorities, big
(11:26):
businesses, individuals.
What have you learned mostabout yourself being part of
that growing community?
Speaker 2 (11:35):
I learned about myself that, whatever you do, do
the first step and then thepath will lie ahead and it will
work and you can do.
Yes, you can, yes, you will,yes, you will be able to.
Because, looking back, it wasvery scaring just getting the
(11:58):
understanding of the horizonsopen before, but now it looks
like we managed to do quite agood job getting so many people
involved, and the more youstretch yourself, the more you
challenge yourself, the more youcan achieve and the more you
can ignite and encourage peoplearound you.
(12:19):
And that is probably the mostrewarding and rewarding thing of
our work, because I feel thatpeople manage to change the life
of theirs and, at the end ofthe day, you get the message
thank you for changing my life.
That was the first message.
I was crying because, in 2022,and I thought, oh dear, I'm the
(12:40):
life changer.
What a role, what a title to bea life changer for someone.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
This is very honorable, to be doing this job,
what we are doing now and youtalk about life changes, but
you're also been announced onthe 2023 game changer list, um
northern power women awards.
We recognized you and yourwonderful colleague oxana with
an award back in 2023 and thenequally this year at the 2025
(13:10):
Northern Power Women Awards.
You're on a future list, soyou've gone from life changer
you are a game changer in motionto multi-award winner.
Is that something that sitscomfortably with you?
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Right, let's start with the Northern Power Women
Awards, going back to 2023.
I'm sorry I have to mentionthat because that was one of the
biggest surprises of my lifeProbably my life is very
generous for surprises duringrecent years and when we visited
the event as guests, just tocome for a dinner okay, yes,
(13:44):
here we are.
And then we were announced witha special award and invited to
the stage, that was a big shock,but that was a big reward of
the work we do.
And standing on the stage withyou and looking into the eyes of
the audience, I understood that, probably how pathetic it
(14:06):
sounds, we've've got a mission,a mission with great people like
you and other like-mindedpersons.
We do have a mission in thisworld for some reasons.
We were there for some reasonsfor these people.
We met you for some reasons.
We met your team for somereasons.
Everything is happening for areason and getting this award it
(14:30):
.
It was very honorable award andthat was one of the greatest
achievements in my life, becauseI understand what the scale of
the work you do and being inthis circle, in this bubble of
like-minded people, it'ssomething incredible.
Feel that and after that itwent like very smoothly, award
(14:52):
after award.
So I was awarded by.
I was a finalist for leadershipaward in London Institute for
Leadership.
Then we were across the north.
Some more awards.
I don't remember all of them,oh dear it's a big trophy
cabinet, mariana.
I've got a special shelf at homewith all the trophies and
(15:13):
awards and but the thing is I'mnot working for the awards.
If they are, if they, if we dohow, that's good.
That means that we're doingsomething right and we are doing
something well.
But having got our workrecognized, it's something great
because it shows that we aredoing this well and it helps to
(15:40):
share information and awarenessand raise awareness about the
project we do and the amount ofpeople we manage to help and the
amount of people we still weare still, the amount of people
we are still helping and we willhelp in the future, which is
incredible.
I mean, having an award is agood thing, but having an award
and the job you do as a part ofwhat you do, this is more
(16:02):
incredible.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
And you talk about, you know, sort of being that
role model and one of the rolesthat you take really seriously
as well, is about being theadvocate for the culture of
Ukraine, whether it be throughcostume, whether it be through
food, whether it be throughlanguage, whether it be about
cultural exchanges, and one ofthe biggest events in recent
(16:26):
years was a couple of years agoin Liverpool, which was when
Liverpool hosted Eurovision onbehalf of Ukraine.
What a moment in time that was,isn't it?
We saw a lot of each otherduring that time.
There was a Eurovision village,a Ukrainian village that sat
alongside the pop-up up at thepier head.
(16:48):
There was the event itself.
It was quite overwhelming,wasn't it?
That was everything that wentalongside it.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Yes, that was a month in my life, one of the, again,
most most incredible.
Have you spotted?
Most incredible things in mylife are connected with you.
So it was a feast of Ukrainianculture.
It was a feast of Ukrainianheritage, of Ukrainian music
artists, and that was the timeof unity of Ukrainian people and
British people and people overthe world, because there were a
lot of people and people of theworld, because there were a lot
(17:24):
of people from all over theworld in Liverpool, and that was
something amazing to be a partof this grand show and this
grand month and I felt homeagain because it felt like it's
not Liverpool.
It felt like my own city ofLviv and or Kyiv or any other
(17:46):
Ukrainian cities, becauseeverything was covered in
Ukrainian colors, flags, peoplewere smiling, people wanted to
take selfies, pictures with usand we felt like we are
celebrities walking through thetowns, especially while having
Ukrainian costumes on, and thatwas amazing.
(18:07):
Just thinking back, one of thegreatest events we attended
obviously was Gala show forEurovision, being guests being
invited as special guests.
It was very honorable thing tobe at.
And another thing that was theevent you organized for us at
the Navy ship while flying theUkrainian flag on the Royal ship
(18:32):
.
I know the permission was notvery easy to be obtained.
I know and I appreciate throughthe hoops you jumped to get
this done for us and fororganizing that and gathering
ukrainian guests, making themfeel welcomed and warm, and that
(18:52):
was something incredible and Istill it found a very warm place
in my heart and, thinking back,I mean if in the time of sorrow
I'm thinking there are stillpeople who will support and who
are with us, and then I say tomyself you have no right to give
(19:14):
up and then you have tocontinue going.
Thank you.
And thinking about culture.
Ukrainian culture is very deepand old and we do have a lot to
offer to the world to learn andshare with the culture and we
are proudly sharing this now.
And we do have a lot ofattention from people learning
(19:38):
about Ukrainian traditions,customs, ukrainian embroidery,
ukrainian flower crowns, and I'mproudly using this element as
promoting of Ukrainian culturethroughout the world and in the
UK as well.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
There's so many highlights during that period.
We talked about the time on theRoyal Navy ship HMS Mersey.
Captain Mitch lit up the shipin blue and yellow.
He called me one night going.
Where am I going?
Ship in blue and yellow.
He called me one night going.
Where am I going to get blueand yellow lights from?
In a time during there was somuch.
We hosted a networking event onthere.
But do you have a highlight?
I know we were.
We were swapping photos earlier.
I know there's a little cheekyone there with you and you and
(20:17):
Oksana and Sam Ryder, but butwas there a real highlight?
Was there a real favoriteperson that you met?
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Again, you're my favorite person I met.
Thinking about my favoriteperson we met a lot of
incredible people since 2022, ifwe are focusing on the past
invasion, post-invasion eventsbut we have people who are very
(20:49):
dedicated to the war we fight inand to the idea we fight for.
So I would mention, probably,people of the North, because I
have a possibility to compare Ihave been living in London for
seven years and I moved toManchester and I should have
(21:15):
done this before because I dolove people of the North, I do
love the vibes, I do love theopenness of people, the
sincerity, the dignity they dotheir work with and I'm really
glad that I belong to the North.
And talking about people inparticular, I'm thinking about
(21:37):
your team again.
If we talk about Liverpool, Ihave to mention the mayor of
Liverpool, billy Camp, who is anincredible supporter of any
Ukrainian us and support we need.
Who is fundraising and who issupporting different fundraising
(22:05):
uh events, opportunities andprojects and um, he's amazing.
Probably he's one of the mostwho can um, who helps us to
fight here.
But if we are talking aboutpeople overall, these are just
general British people.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
And what advice?
If you look back to disobedientMariana as a child unsure what
you're going to do or how you'regoing to play by the rules what
advice would you give her?
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Be careful, but dare to try.
Don't be afraid to try One morestep and one more step and you
will get there, because if Ihaven't tried so many steps and
if I haven't made so manymistakes, I would have never
(23:03):
been where I am now, becauseit's better to do and then feel
sorry for the mistake ratherthan not doing anything and
feeling sorry for not gettingwhatever you want to get.
Dare to be, dare to try, dareto jump and move.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
Now that is a t-shirt moment and a moment for a
slogan on a bag, if ever.
So, marianna, you're amazing.
The work that you're doing andcontinue to drive is phenomenal.
We'll put the details aroundUnited for Ukraine on the show
notes so people can get involved.
And please do, even if it'sjust one small thing.
The one small things can alladd up and, like Marianna says,
(23:43):
says it's about daring to try.
I wish you well and yourendeavors for your next degree.
I mean you know come on uh.
Whatever you put your mind to,you will achieve.
It's an honor to know you uh.
I've loved uh.
Myself and my husband, northernpower man rob, love being in
company.
So thank you so much and keepdoing what you're doing.
(24:05):
You are totally awesome.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Thank you very much for inviting, thank you for
inspiring me, because you're oneof the inspirers, and thank you
for your great support, notonly your support, your team's
support, your husband's support,but all people of the United
Kingdom.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Subscribe on YouTube, apple, amazon Music, spotify or
wherever you get your podcasts.
Support but all people of theUnited Kingdom.
Thank you.
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