Oleksandra Haponova, Kyiv: “I have found my place”

Oleksandra is a volunteer with the emergency response team of the National Committee of the Ukrainian Red Cross. She joined the team in July and has now been working alongside other volunteers for six months, carrying out all the team’s tasks on an equal footing.

From a young age, Oleksandra dreamed of a career in medicine. Her path to the emergency response team began with a tactical medicine course, which became a turning point and eventually led her to the Ukrainian Red Cross.

“As it turned out, being a medic is, of course, great — but being a rescuer is just as meaningful. And I feel that I have found my place,” she shares.

By education, Oleksandra is a primary school teacher and is also studying practical psychology. In civilian life, she works in the IT field. Volunteering, however, has become the space where all her knowledge and experience come together to provide real support for people.

One of the most challenging shifts she remembers in vivid detail was the night of another large-scale attack on Kyiv. Together with her team, she worked at the impact site amid chaos, damaged residential buildings, and injured civilians. Alongside her colleagues, she provided first aid to people with varying degrees of injuries, as well as psychological support to those in need.

For Oleksandra, volunteering is neither a one-off experience nor a coincidence. It is a conscious choice — a place where she has felt truly needed.
трібною.