Maria, along with her daughter Diana and son Kyrylo, evacuated from the front-line city of Zaporizhzhia due to the full-scale war. In the house where the family lived with their grandparents, the basement was not equipped as a shelter. Therefore, during constant shelling, they adhered to the rule of seeking refuge behind two walls.

However, each Russian attack on their hometown had a severe impact on the children’s mental well-being, especially on 15-year-old Kyrylo, who has a disability. The boy’s condition changed with every air raid and explosion; he would experience hysteria and even nervous breakdowns. Calming him down each time was very challenging.

The psychological state of the younger Diana was also not the best. Since February 2022, she couldn’t attend school, as all learning in the city was conducted remotely. So, communication mainly revolved around the family. When her brother was emotionally unstable, she always helped her mom calm him down.

It was uncertain how much longer the family could endure living at such a pace. They had no savings to leave immediately. Therefore, they had to rely on humanitarian aid from volunteer centers. But saving the children, especially when rumors spread about the possible explosion of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, seemed impossible. Fortunately, Maria met volunteers from Save Ukraine and sought help. In a few days, our volunteers took the family to the station and purchased tickets for the “Zaporizhzhia-Kyiv” train. From there, the family was assisted in reaching the “Center for Evacuated Families with children with Inclusion” in Irpin, where they received all the necessary support.

Now, the family has moved into their own modular house under the FortHome program, equipped with everything needed for a comfortable life. Most importantly, the children here rarely hear air raid signals, and explosions are infrequent. In the safety and comfort of their new home, the teenagers’ psychological well-being has significantly improved, and Maria herself has become much calmer.