7 WOMEN, 7 LIVES, ONE DESTINY
"DO YOU HEAR ME?"
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Ukrainian authorities estimate that over 19,500 children have been abducted by Russia or Russian-occupied territories.
With the global campaign “7 Women, 7 Lives, One Destiny”, the women whose children were taken speak out for the first time about their experiences, their fear, their resilience, and their incredible determination.
For three years, we have heard about their children, mostly through politicians and celebrities reading scripted statements about their fate. But never were these women given a voice.
Never were they asked: “And you, how do you feel?”
We are honoured to have Oleksandra Matviichuk, Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2022, serve as the ambassador of this campaign, strengthening its global reach and moral authority.
This campaign is not a slogan, it is a call to conscience. A call to protect children, support families, and ensure these women are finally heard when they ask: “Do You Hear Me?
7 WOMEN SEARCHING FOR THEIR MISSING CHILDREN
A MESSAGE FROM THE CAMPAIGN AMBASSADOR
We often hear numbers.
We often hear statistics.
We often hear politicians and world leaders speaking about the Ukrainian children who were kidnapped and illegally sent to Russia.
But behind every speech and every number, there are real people, mothers, grandmothers, and sisters,
whose lives were shattered the moment their children were taken.
Mothers who watched soldiers lead their sons and daughters away.
Grandmothers who searched through endless lists, desperate for one familiar name.
Sisters who learned far too young what absence feels like.
For years, these women lived in silence, silenced by fear, by pain, by a tragedy too heavy to describe.
But now, they are speaking, and the world must listen.
“Do You Hear Me? | 7 Women, 7 Lives, One Destiny” is a campaign that brings their stories to light.
It gives a platform to those who have carried the unbearable, so that we can see this for what it truly is, not political, but human.
Hear these women, who have so much to say about their children, about their love, their loss, and about why the world’s leaders must do everything possible
to bring these children home.
In my work, and through People First, I have learned that justice begins with human stories, that every person matters, and that every voice counts.
The first victims of this crime are the mothers, women who have lost so much,
yet continue to fight with extraordinary strength to bring their children back.
Their courage reminds us what humanity truly means, and their voices call out to all of us, beyond politics, beyond borders, asking one simple question:
DO YOU HEAR ME?
Oleksandra Matviichuk
