A special award – “Portraits of Sisterhood ” is a way to appreciate women who, through their civic activity and willingness to make sacrifices, do what they can to help those who need it most!
Among Ukrainian women, the winner of the "Portraits of Sisterhood " award, selected by the Chapter, was Mariana Mamonova - for her involvement in helping women who survived Russian captivity, as well as mothers and wives of soldiers. After returning from captivity, she founded a charity foundation that implements a project for the psychosocial rehabilitation of women.
By decision of the Chapter, the Polish winner was Agnieszka Zach – for her tireless help to Ukrainians during the war. She provided shelter to women with children and continues to provide humanitarian aid to the front lines, personifying solidarity and support.
Olena Apczel won the vote of the Readers. They honored her courage, cultural contribution and volunteer work during the war. Her story is inspiring and embodies the power of sisterhood that unites women in the fight for justice and a better future.
- Friends, together we are a powerful force. Fear is an extraordinary weapon. It can make a million people standing next to each other believe that they are not alone. But there are so many of us and all together we can say "no" to evil. I am not silent, I do not agree, I will not leave, I will not abandon. In today's times, these are magic words that have great power. Believe me - assured Agnieszka Zach.
The ceremony was attended by , among others , Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Wiesław Szczepański and the Ukrainian Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Bodnar .
Dominika Kulczyk, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, founder of the Kulczyk Foundation, said: - I was once asked what I was most proud of, what my greatest life achievement was. I said that the most important thing is to have the courage to feel. As long as we feel, as long as our hearts beat, we know where our path is leading us. When I received the terrible news about the outbreak of a full-scale war, I was at home in London. And I realized that I could no longer be there. We formed a team and started helping - sister to sister - so that Ukrainian women could feel at home in Poland.
This is how the "Hi Girls!" initiative was born, which later transformed into the idea of Sisterhood .
Thank you for this exceptional evening, full of emotion, but also of feminine energy, power and strength of sisterhood!
Below we present the profiles of all the women nominated for this year's award - we appreciate you, thank you and are very impressed with what you do! Each of you is a separate story from which we draw strength, inspiration and motivation to act! Thank you for being here!
Nominated for the "Portraits of Sisterhood " award, Poland:
- Anna Łazar, curator, art historian, translator
- Monika Andruszewska, war correspondent and volunteer
- Anna Dąbrowska, president of the Homo Faber Association
- Olga Piasecka-Nieć, psychologist, president of the "Kocham Dębniki" Foundation
- Anna Suska-Jakubowska
- Agnieszka Zach, volunteer
Nominees for the "Portraits of Sisterhood " award, Ukraine:
- Julia " Tajra " Pajewska, soldier, paramedic
- Olena Apczel, director, soldier
- Mariana Mamonova, former Kremlin prisoner, psychotherapist, founder of a charitable foundation
- Olga Rudniewa, CEO of Superhumans Center
- Oleksandr Mezinowa, director and founder of the animal shelter " Sirius "
- Lyudmila Huseynova, human rights activist, head of the NGO "Let’s go, Sisters!"
The full report from the event can be found on the website of the Sestry.eu magazine - https://www.sestry.eu/pl/artykuly/sestry-eu-oglosily-laureatki-tegorocznyj-nagrody-portrety-siostrzenstwa
We invite you to see photos by, among others , Anna Liminowicz and Adam Burakowski
