Preserving Stories. Natalia Omelchuk on “Memories in Boxes” and the Experience of Preserving the Memory of Luhansk Region

Natalia Omelchuk, coordinator of educational projects at the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation, took part in the discussion, which was dedicated to preserving the memory, cultural heritage, and local identity of Luhansk region. She spoke about her experience of forced displacement and the story behind the creation of the “Memories in Boxes” project, which later expanded into the project “Koreni ta Kryla: A Story That Unites” (“Roots and Wings: A Story That Unites”).

Natalia Omelchuk was born and raised in Luhansk region, but due to Russia’s invasion and occupation, she was forced to leave her home twice: the first time she had to leave Luhansk region, and the second time — Vorzel in Kyiv region, after the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. This experience, in her words, particularly acutely shows what it means to lose the familiar space in which one’s personal and family ties are formed.

“I am a person who has a double experience of leaving occupation. And, fortunately, one experience of return”.

Even before the full-scale invasion, Natalia was looking for ways to make teaching the history of Ukraine more interesting for children. She used museum space as an educational tool: students became researchers, and museum objects became sources of knowledge.

After 2022, this approach took on a new meaning. While relocating in Poland, Natalia worked with children and women, helping them talk about Ukraine through their own family stories.

The impetus for creating the “Memories in Boxes” initiative was her own box of belongings.

In the summer of 2022, Natalia returned to the already de-occupied Kyiv region to retrieve some of the belongings she had left behind. While sorting through the boxes, she noticed that each item was connected to a particular story.

“I had boxes from before ’14 with my life, and then boxes appeared from before ’22, from before February ’22. I go through them, I look for my belongings there, and I realize that I can tell a story about each one”, — recalls Natalia Omelchuk.

Among the items were photographs of children and students, including a photo from the last celebration she organized while already in occupied Molodohvardiisk. There was also money that colleagues had given to one of her graduates — a girl who managed to obtain Ukrainian documents and was heading to enroll in Kyiv.

Naturally, at first glance, these items turned out to be carriers of memory about school, students, family, occupation, support, and human solidarity.

Later, Natalia invited children and women abroad to talk about their own experiences through objects and family stories. Participants began bringing items that told the stories of their own lives.

“And the women began bringing me absolutely simple everyday items. And I ended up with a box of things that tell someone else’s story”, — she noted.

Thus, a personal collection of memories gradually turned into a kind of archive of human experience. The history of a single object could become a starting point for a conversation about a family’s history, and through it — about the history of the region and of Ukraine.

Natalia Omelchuk is convinced that it is precisely small educational and cultural projects that can become a safe platform for talking about difficult experiences — forced displacement, occupation, loss of home, return, and the preservation of Ukrainian identity.

This approach echoes Natalia’s work within the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation project “Koreni ta Kryla: A Story That Unites” (“Roots and Wings”). At its core is working with history and cultural heritage as tools for education, self-identification, and connection between Ukrainians in Ukraine and abroad.

According to Natalia, it is important for Ukrainians to talk about various experiences related to occupation, displacement, and return, as these are not problems specific to individual regions. That is why preserving personal stories today is part of the broader work of preserving the cultural memory of Luhansk region. After all, behind every territory are people, their families, belongings, memories, connections, and experiences that cannot be allowed to be erased by war and occupation.

The public discussion “Local Voices of Luhansk Region: Memory, Identity, Future” took place on August 4 at the Ukraine Crisis Media Center in Kyiv as part of the project “Local Voices of Luhansk Region in the National Dialogue.”

Participants discussed the role of cultural memory in shaping national unity, the importance of oral history in documenting the war and the experience of forced displacement, as well as the role of state institutions, museums, civil society organizations, media, and the educational environment in preserving the cultural heritage of temporarily occupied territories.

The discussion consisted of four thematic panels: “Memory as the Foundation of National Unity,” “Local Identity of Luhansk Region: From Stereotypes to a New Public Dialogue,” “Culture as a Tool for Recovery,” and “Luhansk Region After Occupation: Memory, Partnership, Recovery.”

The event was attended by representatives of state and regional authorities, the civil society sector, education, cultural and museum institutions, as well as experts working on documenting memory, cultural policy, and community support.

The project is implemented by the NGO “Center for Joint Development ‘Dieva Hromada’” in partnership with the Luhansk Regional Museum of Local Lore, the NGO “Art Residency Plus-Minus,” and the Starobilsk District State Administration, as part of the project “Spadshchyna. Prostir dlia Roboty” (“Heritage. A Space for Work”), with the support of the international charitable foundation “IZOLYATSIA. Platform of Cultural Initiatives” and the program “Partnership for a Strong Ukraine.”