Half of the Visa Everywhere Pioneers 2025 winners are Ukrainian women: stories of courage and inspiration

How to turn weakness into strength

Hanna's journey in Britain began with difficulties: not knowing the language, not having local certificates, feeling lost. That was three years ago. Today, Hanna is the founder of Step to Power, a social organisation that helps Ukrainians with what she herself once needed: English language skills, psychological support, leadership development and job search.

‘Anger saved me back then,’ she says. Hanna is a professional psychologist with extensive experience helping people in Ukraine and a degree in psychiatry. When she arrived in Manchester, she saw that she could be useful, but she was met with rejection: ‘No English, no British certificates, something else missing...’

One day, Hanna made a firm decision: she would learn the language and set up her own organisation. A long journey began — studying at TERN, English courses, counselling at college, other programmes. Those were days of hard work, fatigue, doubts and hope. TERN mentors provided great support. ‘Lucas' words always echoed in my head: “Everything will happen gradually, the main thing is to know the path and follow it!”’ recalls Hanna.

And so it happened. Within a year, she received a Level 2 Counselling Skills diploma, created Step to Power, won three grants and helped hundreds of Ukrainians.

Currently, she is in the process of submitting documents to the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), a leading professional organisation in the United Kingdom that accredits psychotherapists and sets standards for psychotherapeutic practice, and is also working to build a community. The journey continues... ‘The main thing is your path,’ says Hanna.

The full article can be read at the link

https://maiaklighthouse.media/refugee-entrepreunership-network-summit/