She fled war – now she’s found purpose in Torquay

WHEN the war broke out, it began as an ordinary morning for Larissa Sichivitsa in her home city of Lviv in Ukraine.

She was moving through her routine – making breakfast, pouring a coffee – when a friend rang at exactly 9am.

“I picked up the phone softly and he said with sarcasm ‘Congratulations, the war in Ukraine starts’.”

She laughed it off.

The distance noise, she thought, was just another training exercise – something she had heard many times before.

“My friend said ‘Wake up! The war is here in Lviv. Can you hear the sirens?’ I said ‘It’s practise, it’s practise’, but I soon found out it wasn’t,” Sichivitsa said.

 

“I became like a stone. Women cry easily, but me at that time, I was a stone. There was no crying or emotion.”

She made her way to the basement and stayed there for hours.

“I was afraid,” Sichivitsa said. “You don’t want to leave, but I realised very quickly that I had too.

“I was on my own. I asked all my friends who had a car to fit me in to get me out.”

But day after day, there was no way out. Trains were full. Cars were packed. Every option closed.

Some tried to flee on foot, spending two days in -15C temperatures trying to reach Poland.

Others waited five days in open fields with no food or toilets.

Sichivitsa had resigned herself to the same fate.

Then, suddenly, one friend had space. It took five hours to reach the border.

“My friend didn’t want to go and leave her relatives behind, so I took it,” Sichivitsa said.

“I think God helped me that day, and my late husband too.

“Compare five days to five hours. Wow. I was so fortunate.”

She spent the next five days in Poland. Another breakthrough followed when her daughter, Veronica, secured her a visa to Australia.

Just five days later, Sichivitsa landed in Melbourne.

A short drive to Torquay brought a reunion with her daughters – and, finally, the tears came.

“I felt so much wear on my soul, I couldn’t get it out of me. It wasn’t a depression, but more of a shock,” Sichivitsa said.

 

Her daughter encouraged her to go for a walk along the beach.

“When I’m upset, I grab a cappuccino and a croissant – we did just that,” Sichivitsa said.

“We spoke a lot and tried to sort out our next move. I was eager to do something. Luckily, that led me to a wonderful place.”

After a career with Oxford University Press in Ukraine, Sichivitsa began searching for purpose in Australia.

She found it at food relief service, Feed Me Surf Coast.

“I was welcomed in with open arms to volunteer whenever I liked,” Sichivitsa said. “I’ve been there for four years. I love it.”

More roles followed: the Salvation Army, Torquay Community House and the Royal Geelong Show.

Volunteering, she said, has become central to her life. She believes it is the key to happiness.

“I just love it,” Sichivitsa said. “Living here in Torquay is a blessing. People are amazing, relaxed and not in a hurry.

“I felt that I need to give back, to pay back to the community for what they’ve done for me.”

Her connection to Ukraine strengthened when she found the Ukrainian community in Geelong.

At a newcomer’s event in 2022, she met others with similar stories.

 

The 76-year-old has remained closely connected to the Ukrainian community in Geelong, continuing her love of cooking through dumplings for Pako Festa and Mama’s Market.

And she still gives back to her homeland by teaching English to students in Ukraine over Zoom.

“These kids are sitting in the basement all day or night, scared off the sirens. There’s no school the next day, so I help them teach and learn,” Sichivitsa said.

“They are growing up fast. Time is gold and I feel very proud of them.”

Now settled in Torquay, Sichivitsa says her life is full.

 

“I’m very busy between volunteering and doing other things that I love,” she said.

“Torquay has changed my life, and it is very pleasant to belong to the community.

“You feel that people look after you, are ready to help you and ready to help you with your happiness.”