“Now I See How to Change the Course of the Conversation with the People We Help”: Mother Yuliania on Charity, Trainings, and the Thirst for New Knowledge

Yuliania Gavdyuk is the founder and head of a charitable organization in Novoyavorivsk, Lviv region, and the wife of the archdeacon Ivan Berezovyi of the Drohobych-Sambir Diocese. Seven years ago, she and her husband received a blessing from their spiritual father to engage in charitable work.

“He saw talent in us,” Yuliania says. Since then, the couple has continued supporting their community.

Their organization provides meals to people every week. “At first, it was 20–30 people — low-income individuals, elderly people, and those living alone. After the full-scale invasion began, the number grew to 70, as internally displaced persons were added. At the same time, for two years we worked together with the youth brotherhood to make energy bars for the military. Later, due to personal circumstances, we had to reduce the volume,” says Mother Yuliania.

Gaining the Knowledge That Was Missing

She learned about the trainings “Palliative Care and Spiritual Support” and “Leadership and Spiritual Ministry During War” through the community of wives of OCU priests, of which she is one of the co-founders. The group administrator shared the information — and it resonated.

“Previously, such courses were available only to priests, but now wives of clergy and active parishioners are also invited to participate,” Yuliania explains.

She chose palliative care training because of a specific need. Their town is located near the Yavoriv military training ground, and soldiers often visit the church.

“There are moments when you simply don’t know how to communicate properly, how to build a conversation, or whether you should even approach a person at all. I realized that I lacked this knowledge — and I wanted to gain it.”

The results turned out to be broader than she expected.

“That training first of all helped me better understand myself. It eased a lot of my anxiety. I realized that it is normal to feel worried. And now I see how to change the course of conversations with the people we help.”

The second training — on leadership — focused on another important challenge.

“I need to learn how to build a team. This is important for the future development of our charitable organization.”

Mother Yuliania says she plans to actively recommend future training through the same community of clergy wives, which already has nearly 200 participants.

“Maybe I’ll record a video or audio testimonial, or conduct a survey — so that those who have already participated can share reviews and motivate others.”

The project “Clergy and Communities in Support of Mental Health: Innovative Support Practices During the War in Ukraine” is implemented by Eleos-Ukraine in partnership with DanChurchAid and Norwegian Church Aid in Ukraine with financial support from the Government of Norway (NORAD), in cooperation with the Kyiv and Lviv Orthodox Theological Academies.