Ukraine is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, with nearly a third of the country contaminated by explosive ordnance. The situation grows worse by the day as the ongoing war continues to pepper the land with mines and unexploded weaponry, posing a disproportionate threat to vulnerable communities and children.

Two brave Ukrainian women, Victoria Vdovichuk, 38, and Olga Savchenko, 34, are working tirelessly to provide risk education as part of critical efforts to prevent accidents and save lives. Working with Humanity & Inclusion’s explosive ordnance team, they help to educate people on how to avoid life-threatening explosives and keep themselves safe.

With tens of thousands already injured, their efforts have never been more vital. Vdovichuk contends with considerable personal danger to travel to front-line communities and teach people to identify bombs, shells and tripwires and respond to explosive ordnance threats. She particularly focuses on the displaced, who may not know the new area they are living in well and are more likely to make life-threatening mistakes.

Vdovichuk has always been drawn to helping people, but it became a calling when war first broke out in eastern Ukraine in 2014. From Horlivka in the Donetsk region, she had to flee from heavy fighting and lost her home and coffee shop she owned as the city soon fell under Russian control. Horrified by the devastation she saw, she ended up becoming a de-miner.

“I had dreamed of being a psychologist,” she says. “But after the war began, my friend became a de-miner. I realised how important this work was and that someone had to do it, despite the risks, so why not me?”