{"id":129461,"date":"2026-04-15T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/?p=129461"},"modified":"2026-04-08T17:06:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T07:06:50","slug":"she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\/","title":{"rendered":"She fled war \u2013 now she&#8217;s found purpose in Torquay"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>WHEN the war broke out, it began as an ordinary morning for Larissa Sichivitsa in her home city of Lviv in Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>She was moving through her routine \u2013 making breakfast, pouring a coffee \u2013 when a friend rang at exactly 9am.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI picked up the phone softly and he said with sarcasm &#8216;Congratulations, the war in Ukraine starts&#8217;.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She laughed it off.<\/p>\n<p>The distance noise, she thought, was just another training exercise \u2013 something she had heard many times before.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy friend said &#8216;Wake up! The war is here in Lviv. Can you hear the sirens?&#8217; I said &#8216;It\u2019s practise, it\u2019s practise&#8217;, but I soon found out it wasn\u2019t,&#8221; Sichivitsa said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_118903\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-118903\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-118903\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/04\/IMG_0157_85228-1-rotated.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-118903\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Larissa Sichivitsa has rebuilt her life in Torquay after fleeing war in Ukraine. Photo: Nathan Rivalland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI became like a stone. Women cry easily, but me at that time, I was a stone. There was no crying or emotion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She made her way to the basement and stayed there for hours.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was afraid,&#8221; Sichivitsa said. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to leave, but I realised very quickly that I had too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was on my own. I asked all my friends who had a car to fit me in to get me out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But day after day, there was no way out. Trains were full. Cars were packed. Every option closed.<\/p>\n<p>Some tried to flee on foot, spending two days in -15C temperatures trying to reach Poland.<\/p>\n<p>Others waited five days in open fields with no food or toilets.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\"><\/div>\n<p>Sichivitsa had resigned herself to the same fate.<\/p>\n<p>Then, suddenly, one friend had space. It took five hours to reach the border.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy friend didn\u2019t want to go and leave her relatives behind, so I took it,\u201d Sichivitsa said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think God helped me that day, and my late husband too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCompare five days to five hours. Wow. I was so fortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She spent the next five days in Poland. Another breakthrough followed when her daughter, Veronica, secured her a visa to Australia.<\/p>\n<p>Just five days later, Sichivitsa landed in Melbourne.<\/p>\n<p>A short drive to Torquay brought a reunion with her daughters \u2013 and, finally, the tears came.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI felt so much wear on my soul, I couldn\u2019t get it out of me. It wasn\u2019t a depression, but more of a shock,\u201d Sichivitsa said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30038\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30038\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/04\/IMG_0943_83514.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Larissa Sichivitsa continues her love of cooking in her new life on the Surf Coast. Photo: Supplied.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Her daughter encouraged her to go for a walk along the beach.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I\u2019m upset, I grab a cappuccino and a croissant \u2013 we did just that,&#8221; Sichivitsa said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After a career with Oxford University Press in Ukraine, Sichivitsa began searching for purpose in Australia.<\/p>\n<p>She found it at food relief service, Feed Me Surf Coast.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was welcomed in with open arms to volunteer whenever I liked,&#8221; Sichivitsa said. &#8220;I\u2019ve been there for four years. I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>More roles followed: the Salvation Army, Torquay Community House and the Royal Geelong Show.<\/p>\n<p>Volunteering, she said, has become central to her life. She believes it is the key to happiness.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just love it,\u201d Sichivitsa said. \u201cLiving here in Torquay is a blessing. People are amazing, relaxed and not in a hurry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI felt that I need to give back, to pay back to the community for what they\u2019ve done for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her connection to Ukraine strengthened when she found the Ukrainian community in Geelong.<\/p>\n<p>At a newcomer\u2019s event in 2022, she met others with similar stories.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30038\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30038\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/04\/IMG_0273_83499.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sichivita enjoys making Ukrainian dumplings for the annual Mama&#8217;s Market. Photo: Supplied.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s Market.<\/p>\n<p>And she still gives back to her homeland by teaching English to students in Ukraine over Zoom.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese kids are sitting in the basement all day or night, scared off the sirens. There\u2019s no school the next day, so I help them teach and learn,&#8221; Sichivitsa said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey are growing up fast. Time is gold and I feel very proud of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now settled in Torquay, Sichivitsa says her life is full.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30038\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30038\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/04\/IMG_0777_83522.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Larissa Sichivitsa has found purpose through volunteering in the Torquay community. Photo: Supplied.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m very busy between volunteering and doing other things that I love,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTorquay has changed my life, and it is very pleasant to belong to the community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou feel that people look after you, are ready to help you and ready to help you with your happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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 \u2013 making breakfast, pouring a coffee \u2013 when a friend rang at exactly 9am. \u201cI picked up the phone softly and he said with sarcasm &#8216;Congratulations, the [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":129462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-129461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>She fled war \u2013 now she&#039;s found purpose in Torquay - Geelong Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Refugee Story Australia: From war in Ukraine to a new life in Torquay, one woman finds purpose through community and volunteering.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"She fled war \u2013 now she&#039;s found purpose in Torquay - Geelong Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Refugee Story Australia: From war in Ukraine to a new life in Torquay, one woman finds purpose through community and volunteering.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Geelong Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-14T18:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/04\/South-Edits-8426-3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nathan Rivalland\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nathan Rivalland\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nathan Rivalland\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf7cb8dfe63a187785b4e65994914833\"},\"headline\":\"She fled war \u2013 now she&#8217;s found purpose in Torquay\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-14T18:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":827,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/South-Edits-8426-3.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\\\/\",\"name\":\"She fled war \u2013 now she's found purpose in Torquay - Geelong Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/South-Edits-8426-3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-14T18:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Refugee Story Australia: From war in Ukraine to a new life in Torquay, one woman finds purpose through community and volunteering.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/South-Edits-8426-3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/South-Edits-8426-3.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Larissa Sichivita (second from left) with some of the members of Ukrainians in Geelong. Photo: Nathan Rivalland.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"She fled war \u2013 now she&#8217;s found purpose in Torquay\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Geelong Times\",\"description\":\"Free local news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Geelong Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/times_logo_1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/times_logo_1.png\",\"width\":248,\"height\":37,\"caption\":\"Geelong Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf7cb8dfe63a187785b4e65994914833\",\"name\":\"Nathan Rivalland\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e39c50fc5abf17687f11be47ad63e3eaf3f82c331506cffb88c36513c02a6b1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e39c50fc5abf17687f11be47ad63e3eaf3f82c331506cffb88c36513c02a6b1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e39c50fc5abf17687f11be47ad63e3eaf3f82c331506cffb88c36513c02a6b1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Nathan Rivalland\"},\"description\":\"Nathan Rivalland is a journalist with the Times News Group. He covers community news, lifestyle and sport across the Surf Coast, Bellarine and Geelong.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/author\\\/nathanrivalland\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"She fled war \u2013 now she's found purpose in Torquay - Geelong Times","description":"Refugee Story Australia: From war in Ukraine to a new life in Torquay, one woman finds purpose through community and volunteering.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"She fled war \u2013 now she's found purpose in Torquay - Geelong Times","og_description":"Refugee Story Australia: From war in Ukraine to a new life in Torquay, one woman finds purpose through community and volunteering.","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\/","og_site_name":"Geelong Times","article_published_time":"2026-04-14T18:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/04\/South-Edits-8426-3.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Nathan Rivalland","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nathan Rivalland","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\/"},"author":{"name":"Nathan Rivalland","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/person\/bf7cb8dfe63a187785b4e65994914833"},"headline":"She fled war \u2013 now she&#8217;s found purpose in Torquay","datePublished":"2026-04-14T18:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\/"},"wordCount":827,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/04\/South-Edits-8426-3.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\/","name":"She fled war \u2013 now she's found purpose in Torquay - Geelong Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/04\/South-Edits-8426-3.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-14T18:00:00+00:00","description":"Refugee Story Australia: From war in Ukraine to a new life in Torquay, one woman finds purpose through community and volunteering.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/04\/South-Edits-8426-3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/04\/South-Edits-8426-3.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Larissa Sichivita (second from left) with some of the members of Ukrainians in Geelong. Photo: Nathan Rivalland."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/she-fled-war-now-shes-found-purpose-in-torquay\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"She fled war \u2013 now she&#8217;s found purpose in Torquay"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/","name":"Geelong Times","description":"Free local news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#organization","name":"Geelong Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/09\/times_logo_1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/09\/times_logo_1.png","width":248,"height":37,"caption":"Geelong Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/person\/bf7cb8dfe63a187785b4e65994914833","name":"Nathan Rivalland","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e39c50fc5abf17687f11be47ad63e3eaf3f82c331506cffb88c36513c02a6b1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e39c50fc5abf17687f11be47ad63e3eaf3f82c331506cffb88c36513c02a6b1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e39c50fc5abf17687f11be47ad63e3eaf3f82c331506cffb88c36513c02a6b1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Nathan Rivalland"},"description":"Nathan Rivalland is a journalist with the Times News Group. He covers community news, lifestyle and sport across the Surf Coast, Bellarine and Geelong.","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/author\/nathanrivalland\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129461"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=129461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}