Welcome to Anastasiia's story.

Mariupol is no stranger to the occasional shelling since 2014. Yet the invasion still caught everyone by surprise, they believed it was only rumours, or at most, that if there were military action, it wouldn't escalate as quickly as it did.

Anastasiia shares her family's experience of what happened that morning, and until they could leave Ukraine - their only way was through Russia, there was no other way out. They were interrogated, Anastassia's husband for hours, until they were able to leave for Georgia.

They have lost everything, their business, their home, as Anastasiia says "It all became ashes in a moment." She doesn't want any possible connection to her loved ones, family and friends who are still in Mariupol, and put their safety at risk while it is occupied by Russia. We haven't used her full name, or shared her photo on the episode cover to protect her and her family.

Her warmth and optimism lifts everyone up around her. Her smile lights up the room. Her gratitude for safety is immeasurable. Her fear for her family and loved ones is so clearly visible.

"There will always be sunrise after the very dark times, after the dark night..." Anastasiia, Mariupol, Ukraine.

This is her story. Please listen with your hearts and open minds…

Welcome back to Mavis Ramazani’s story. 

In Episode 1, Mavis shared her difficult life prior to leaving South Africa. The trauma induced by her mother, child prostitution and early childhood marriage. 

In Episode 2, Mavis’ story continues when she seeks asylum in Ireland, finding safety and sanctuary for the first time in her life. Through trying to heal her own trauma, she has created grassroots organisations, as well as her work with the Irish Refugee Council, to change the lives of other refugees and asylum seekers. Removing isolation and building communities of support, helping them to integrate and begin their new lives, each with new purpose and hope.

Podcast Links:

Mavis Ramazani

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mavisramazani/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mavis-nonkosinathi-ramazani-487b041a3/ 

Cooking for Freedom: https://www.instagram.com/cookingforfreedom/ 

Donate through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/CookingForFreedom759 

Cooking for Freedom is a grassroots collective, led by current and former refugees and asylum seekers. Funded through donations, Cooking for Freedom provides kitchen facilities for people to cook healthy and nutritious food for their families and others. By using the power of food, people come together to form communities of support, removing isolation and helping them to integrate and build bonds that will have a lasting impact. It is a celebration of different cultures, where skills and stories are shared from adults to children and each other. Each kitchen creates a much needed place for healing through food, health and wellbeing. 

Fixing our Crowns is an organisation that brings women from the international protection system together. FoC provides mentoring and coaching, creates a safe place for women to open up and share their stories, their skills and their cultures, meeting each woman “where she is” and helping her integrate into her new home. FoC empowers women through listening and giving them a voice, building resilience and lifting each other up through the power of a tribe. 

As Mavis says “It starts with us, we have power but sometimes we can forget we have power and we let other things take over that power….we need to fix each other's crowns.”

For more information, please reach out to Mavis Ramazani 

Irish Refugee Council https://www.irishrefugeecouncil.ie/ 

Please get in touch to find out how you can partner with the Irish Refugee Council and their employment programme.

Mavis Ramazani is a Sheroes Global Award winner, a nominee for the Black and Irish awards and a multi-award winner in the fields of justice, integration, community and inclusion. She is also on the DIVERSE IN list of women breaking the bias in Ireland. 

Mavis is the Project Officer at the Irish Refugee Council for their Employment Program, which involves employer engagement and the employment of women in the international protection process and from ethnic minority groups. 

She is a proud advocate for women refugees, passionate about creating sustainable employment, education, mentoring and support networks for women, helping them to feel empowered through self dignity and respect and leading their own communities to a better future - and she leads by example.

This is her story…

Mavis was forced into child prostitution at the age of 13 years, arranged by her own mother. Every weekend, she would take a bus to Johannesburg to be with different men. At the age of 15 years, her mother arranged her marriage to a man, forcing her into child marriage when she was just 16 years old. 

When Mavis found true love and safety with a man in a new relationship, it soon fell apart due to the continued control from her mother. 

She found safety living a different life during the day, immersing herself in her study, work and helping a community of refugee women, who were internally displaced from within South Africa. 

Through her journey, Mavis shows her inner strength, courage and resilience to keep moving forward, determined to find a better life for her and her young daughters. Seeking safety, and where her healing could begin, she arrived in Ireland. This episode shares her story before she arrived seeking asylum in Ireland. 

As Mavis shares, “my wish is that many young girls and women find the safety that I have found in Ireland. It is my place of sanctuary.”

Please listen with your hearts and open minds…