The Shchukin family is one of the IDP families who were able to restore peaceful life in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast thanks to our Fort Home project.

Mrs. Lyuba and her sons, 15-year-old David and 9-year-old Ilya, had lived in the town of Hirnyk, which is famous for its coal mining enterprises. The mother of two boys was working the night shift at one of these factories when she found out about the full-scale invasion of the Russians.

The news about the “bombing of Kyiv” shocked the woman. However, the family had to get used to hostilities during the 9-year war in the East. The younger son Ilya, who, like Mrs. Lyuba said, “rocked and played to the sounds of explosions all his early childhood” and is now that many years old. So the mother decided to take her time with the traumatic move for the children and wait for the situation to improve.

At this time, shops and schools are closed in the city, and the people of Hirnich leave en masse into the unknown. Russian shelling was relentlessly approaching the Shchukins’ house, and the mother’s heart ached more and more from the thought that the next “arrival” could take the lives of the children away. So the family decided to evacuate and found shelter in the local church of Christians of the Evangelical faith in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.

Already here, Mrs. Lyuba was overtaken by painful news: a fragment of an enemy rocket hit their house. Windows were broken, and walls and furniture were damaged. However, the woman was most struck by the fact that the main blow fell on the boys’ room. Mrs. Lyuba never ceases to be amazed at God’s protection, which rescued many of her relatives from death in minutes and seconds.

After what happened, brothers David and Ilya dreamed of only one thing – to have their own place without explosions around them. And now, finally, their dream came true. Now the boys are recovering in our modular house, where there is safety, comfort, and coziness. And Mrs. Lyuba is so glad because she sees the light in her children’s eyes again.

We wish the family to find peace in their new home during this troubled time. Meanwhile, our team continues to rebuild the lives of Ukrainian families and cares about their well-being before and after our Victory!