Description of the integration initiative implemented
Interviewee 5 never had any difficulty in dealing with cleaning the residences, except in some cases when the place had not been cleaned for a long time. She is a self-motivated person with limitless strength, focus and determination. In Greece, she feels lucky as she met the “good people”. She worked for many years for specific people, which helped her to form relationships with them. Until 2009, Interviewee 5 was under pressure to clean the residences and take care of the employer’s child. The pressure was best described as “I never permitted myself to get sick, I had to be there for them, I had to work hard”, mainly because she had to clean and take care of a child all day long. Regarding the difference between live-in and live-out domestic work, she mentioned that as a live-out, she feels free. As a live-in domestic worker, she felt that this was not “normal” and did not belong to herself but to someone else. She could not go outside, take a break or bathe whenever she wanted. She trusted her employers because they helped her whenever she needed something, e.g., medical care, issues with documents, extra payments. She also has two close friends from Ukraine and considers their opinion on various matters. She visits her children twice a year, but they had visited her in Greece. She has a residence permit since 2012. Regarding migrant associations from Ukraine, she has no interest in joining as for her it is a waste of time. Once she was invited to a meeting of an association, the experience was negative as they were only eating and laughing. Over the weekends, she prefers getting some rest or going to the beach. She enjoys cinema and the theatre. She plans to return at some point and reunite with her children even though she would be quite old. She is not sending any remittances to Ukraine; only in case of emergencies of for gifts.

Personal story
Interviewee 5 left Ukraine in 2000 for Greece, after her husband passed away. She arrived with a tourist visa using following the advice of another friend of hers from Ukraine. Her friend gave her information about Greece and introduced her to an employment office. She worked for nine years, 2000-2009, as a live-in cleaner and nanny. The employers were paying her 700 euros, but later they left Greece. She was responsible for cleaning the residence, preparing meals and taking care of the employer’s 7 years old child. She was feeding and bathing the child, reading her stories and putting it to bed. She mentioned that she was spending more time with the child than his birth mother. The work hours were harsh, 6 a.m. to 12 a.m., and sometimes she was finishing after 1 a.m. She was staying in the residence for seven days a week. She felt part of the family. Between 2010 and 2015, she began working as a live-out service worker, cleaning offices and residences via the same employment office. The salary was 450 euros, but she was not satisfied due to delays in her payments. In 2016 she was hired from an import company as a cleaner, part of the cleaning staff where she works. She felt very privileged to continuously work all these years, particularly during the economic crisis. She works under an indefinite duration contract for 800 euros, seven days a week, 9 hours a day, including overtime payment with full benefits, social insurance contributions and social insurance. She works with 3 Ukrainian women and 2 Bulgarian. She mentioned that the current employers appreciated her educational background recognizing her degree from Ukraine and her work experience.

Analysis of the initiative and individual story
Since she came to Greece and until 2009, she was entrapped in this particular occupation when she worked mainly as a live-in cleaner and nanny. However, after 2016, when she was hired as a cleaning staff has formed a radically different reality in her life. This work enabled her to face the adverse consequences of the economic crisis. Therefore, she feels privileged that she left live-in domestic work, although she is still in the cleaning sector.

Results and Impact
Interviewee 5’s initiatives has positively impacted her life and progress in Greece. The job opportunity that emerged offer her the chance for “salvation”, i.e., to have a successful outcome of her choice to migrate.