Escaping a war - Anna's Story

Over the last 5 months, it’s been my pleasure to work with Anna Mahas , during her summer tenure at OnePay , a super cool fintech based in West Yorkshire.

Anna is an evacuee from the Ukraine, and before the war lived and worked in Mariupol, a city on the former border with Russia with a population of 500,000 citizens. Mariupol was one of the first cities that fell under attack when the war started, and now under occupation by the Russian Federation invading forces.

Prior to the war, Anna’s career in Mariupol was taking flight as a marketing specialist, building on 8 years working in various digital marketing, PR & event management roles. With her career ambitions coming to reality, Anna had saved enough to get herself on the property ladder in 2021. Things were going well, she was promoted to Head of Marketing, covering all aspects of marketing activities for a large international IT company to promote their brand across the Ukraine.

Then the war happened.

Fleeing Mariupol

Anna and her family fled Mariupol at the end of March, travelling through the Ukraine in convoy, with as many belongings she could pack into her small car, and leaving her apartment and the majority of the treasures and memories she’d created over the years. She drove day and night, not sleeping for 4 days to get some distance been herself and the atrocities occurring in Mariupol. Two months later, she would hear news from the war effort in Mariupol. Her apartment that had been filled with plans, hopes and ambition, as well as her parents’ house filled with memories, had both been flattened by a bombardment of Russian aggression.

Anna didn’t look back.

Separated from her family

Ukraine was not unaccustomed to conflict and threats of occupation from Russia, but in 2022 things were different. This being the case, Anna and her family travelled together across to the Western part of Ukraine, and to safety.

In April Anna, her mother and sister travelled to Bucharest to arrange a Visa for the family. While the application process continued, Anna’s mother & sister returned back to Western Ukraine, leaving Anna alone in Bucharest, as she waited for the documents, visas and entry permit.

Emotionally and physically drained, Anna started to search for a way out of danger, as far away from Mariupol and the horrors as possible, and she realised Bucharest wasn’t the long term answer.

A host family in Skipton

Anna leveraged every digital media to find options for next steps for herself and her family.? After days of searching, she found information about a new scheme for Ukrainian evacuees. She posted an article about herself and her family, in search of a sponsor in the UK. Two weeks later her future hosts responded, they immediately found a common language and restarted the visa application process.

Family reunited

Two months later, at the end of May Anna and her family got their UK entry clearance!! Her mother and sister travelled back to Bucharest, and then flew overnight into Doncaster on 29 May. Her father initially remained in the Ukraine to assist with the war effort, and on his birthday at the end of August, he flew to the UK and was reunited with his family.

Finding OnePay

OnePay is a fintech based in Ilkley, a small market town in West Yorkshire. They are a sustainable business, with no VC funding to date; who have served over 750,000+ International & Temporary Workers since inception, who would be otherwise financially excluded, unable to work and contribute to the UK economy.

Due to the availability of social housing and host homes in the local area, Anna and a small community of Ukrainian refugees, escaping the war in the Ukraine find themselves in this quintessentially English part of the world. These people, largely made up of women and children had witnessed the worst atrocities and left their country, homes & belongings and family & friends; largely with only the clothes on their back.

Acknowledging this loss, the OnePay team were also aware that these people left their professional careers behind. Feeling compelled to do something, OnePay organised a number of Welcome and career workshop sessions for the evacuees in collaboration with a local organisation the Ilkley & Surrounds Support for Ukrainian Evacuees (ISSUE).

From these workshops, Onepay has so far welcomed a number of Ukrainian evacuees into the business, in temporary and permanent roles, across a variety of functions where they could leverage their expertise and language skills. The business continues to support the Ukrainian community with local events, and they have thanked OnePay for helping them with purpose, stability, financial freedom and friendship.

So what’s next

Anna is determined and incredibly resilient. She will carry the weight of the consequence of the war for the rest of her life, and yet is determined that it will not define her or her career.

Anna worked on a temp role at OnePay over the summer period on digital marketing and engagement. She now needs to find a new home and is looking for a marketing role in payments and Fintech as she’s discovered a new passion!!

Over this time, Anna has shined with her brilliantly positive and “can do” attitude. She is a delight to have on any team, as an effective and productive member. She has a strong work ethic, with her structure, drive, ambition and tenacity, making Anna a powerhouse for any business. She is someone with great ambition and potential, who can thrive and succeed in the right environment.

The ask

I rarely ask my network for anything, but there is an ask this time…

Anna is now looking for a new role in marketing – temporary or permanent. So to my industry colleagues and friends, please connect with Anna directly to get a copy of her CV. You can find her LinkedIn page and contact details here : linkedin.com/in/анна-магас-0108

With sincere thanks, Neil ??