Don't give up — find tasks that will help change the world!
The «Achievable» project is a media outlet about support and freedom, helping people cope with the news. The project shares advice on how to handle difficult events, find inner strength, and not give up even when hope seems to have faded. One of the project's goals is to support those who need it, teach mindful consumption of information, and show what can be done, even if you remain in Russia.
We spoke with the project leader, Kristina, to learn more about the project and its history:
– How did the project come about?
– I came up with the project at the very start of the full-scale war. It was in February or early March. Back then, I thought about how to help, primarily my friends, because in the early days, everyone was trying to do something to get rid of despair and avoid sitting idle. Some went out to protest, some put up posters. But very quickly, almost everyone stopped: some were harassed, others felt hopeless, and some faced pressure from family members. I realized that people involved in any kind of activism also need support. That’s how our project was born.
– Who did you want to help?
– These were people who don’t call themselves activists but are, in fact, activists. These are people who oppose the war and are either already doing something or want to start but don’t know exactly what.So, they need support in two areas. One is psychological support — helping people not give up and find the strength and reasons to act. The second is showing how they can help because people often want to do something but don’t know what or how to do it safely.
People involved in anti-war activities or activism in general often find themselves in a «bubble» where they assume everyone knows what they do, like where to bring items for those affected or how to help victims of violence. But this is far from the truth! It’s important to explain it simply and clearly to those outside this bubble.
– Has anything changed in your work over the past two years?
– Not at all. We continue to provide psychological support and help people find and process information, just as we did from the start. For example, to provide moral support, we held a self-care marathon, where we explained how people could help themselves if they don’t have access to professional psychological help or if the help they’re receiving isn’t enough.
We regularly publish content. We have an anti-war digest, where every two weeks we share what new actions can be taken and how people can help. We’ve also held several activism schools where we helped people create their support projects and taught them how to sustain these projects.
And the most important thing is that we’re achieving our goals! We have a very strong psychological team, and whenever we bring in professionals, we always verify their qualifications and make sure our values align. There were times when someone resonated with us in spirit, we liked their materials, but their education wasn’t complete, so we ultimately had to turn down collaboration. We’re very strict about this. Moreover, our team members are amazing — they come up with incredible ideas and ways to help, creating truly high-quality content.
Our activism school is always a big success. Most of the time, people come to us without concrete ideas but leave with fully developed plans for their projects. Thanks to the first group, we launched six new initiatives. And the second group launched nine.
– What is your role?
– As the leader, I maintain contact with other anti-war initiatives. I often attend forums and events dedicated to anti-war activities. It’s always nice to see, for example, that many people from these organizations have anti-war wallpapers from our project, designed by our team, on their phones.
– What support does your project have now, and what’s still missing?
– The most important resource we have is our participants. They are incredible people doing amazing things. It’s incredibly valuable when people come and share their ideas and talents. Sometimes, people join without knowing exactly how they can help but with a strong desire to contribute. Through our project, they discover their abilities and actively develop them, making a huge contribution to supporting others with an anti-war stance.
As I mentioned earlier, another of our key resources is the team’s high level of competence — not only among psychologists but also among our designers and writers. They’re not just talented but have the necessary skills, and they’ve often been invited as experts at workshops and other events for NGOs.
At the moment, we don’t have any foundation or grant support, and certainly not from the state. However, we are working on finding funding opportunities for ourselves.
– What do you wish for your project, and what do you hope it becomes in the future?
– I would like the project to become a sustainable, supportive organization with a media centre at its core, inspiring and continuously supporting people both psychologically and informationally. Additionally, we want to develop other initiatives branching off from this media centre. For example, we aim to formalize our activism school into three levels and provide ongoing support to graduates. We also hope to hold self-care marathons more regularly. The same goes for our opposition film club — we’d like to make its meetings more frequent and organized.
Our community is also a key part of our plans. We’re gradually working toward creating a completely safe space for communication.
As for what we lack, we would like to have not only financial support but also to gain new knowledge and connections with those who know how to make a project sustainable. For example, launching our merchandise or offering paid services like psychological consultations for those who can afford them, so we can fund our free initiatives.
– How do you attract people, and what do you do to keep them with you?
– Most people who join us are our readers. And I wouldn’t say we make any special efforts to keep them. On the contrary, we always tell them they can take a break or leave the project anytime, and return if they wish. That happens quite often — people come back, and we’re always happy when they do. To us, it’s a sign that our project is a place people want to return to.
It’s also important that we strive to maintain an atmosphere of respect and support. We have a principle: we don’t use collective responsibility as a tool for pressure, and we don’t demand more from people than they can give. This is how we treat our readers and each other. As a result, people with similar values and worldviews are drawn to us.
We are a fully volunteer team that creates a supportive and warm community. We have a group chat where there’s always something happening, as well as opportunities for creating your projects and the freedom to pursue them. If someone doesn’t want to do something, they won’t be forced — tasks are taken up by choice. Gratitude to each other is also important. We don’t have a strict hierarchy, but we do have a structure to help distribute responsibilities. «Achievable» is a media project we’re building together.
– What would you say to those who want to help but don’t know how?
– That’s exactly why we created our project, and we’d be happy if people found opportunities through what we share. I’d like to say that it’s okay to have different motivations for helping. It’s okay to help those you want to help, even if it seems less effective to others. And it’s also okay to focus on efficiency rather than personal preferences or beliefs. It’s okay to take breaks. It’s okay to take care of yourself and your loved ones.
And it’s important to remember that small actions can also help. They may not immediately change the entire situation, but they do make a difference, even if slower than we’d like. For example, with letters to political prisoners. One letter won’t free them, but when they receive it, it helps them hold on. The censors will know that people are watching this person’s fate and that they are not forgotten. And if there’s enough media attention, as we know, exchanges can even happen. This wouldn’t be possible without letters or people expressing their positions. Every letter brings us closer to changing that person’s fate. So, it’s important to remember that every action that helps people truly leaves a mark.
– What helps you keep going, and what inspires you to continue your work?
What inspires me is seeing how our actions produce results. I see the people we help and our participants who are motivated by the project, and I see how we help each other through this. That’s probably the most important thing.
And it makes me happy to think that somewhere out there are bad people with bad plans, but our project at least slightly interferes with those plans. That feeling of standing up against evil and terror motivates and inspires me. It’s a philosophy often seen in our favourite games and movies, but for me, this philosophy must exist not just in stories but in real life, preventing evil from thriving undisturbed.