After Russian forces retreated from the northern Chernihiv region in Ukraine, leaving widespread destruction, the Repair Together initiative was born. Thousands of men and women volunteers worked together to clear debris and rebuild homes destroyed in the invasion, but negative stereotypes about women on construction sites persisted. The initiative’s co-founders decided it was time to break those stereotypes and prove that women had a place in construction. This led to the creation of the Velyke Divnytstvo (“The Great Women’s Build”) project, where an all-female team independently builds homes while teaching women construction skills.
Jesse talks to Olesandra Daruga, one of the organisers and head of communications at Repair Together.
People walk by a damaged residential building following a strike in Dobropillia, Donetsk region, on 8 March 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo: Tetiana Dzhafarova / AFP
