“Thank God, I wasn’t at home. The place where I slept was covered with pieces of the ceiling,” Svitlana told our volunteers how she miraculously escaped the consequences of the russian attack on Kramatorsk.

In her hometown, the woman and her 4-year-old son Serhii spent a lot of time in the bathroom, waiting for the next enemy strikes. After he had heard distant shelling at night, Serhiyko habitually ran to his prepared hiding place to escape from the shellings. The boy didn’t yet know how to add numbers, but he already clearly knew the “two walls” rule.

On such nights, mother and son were very afraid they might be a target for the russians. The last time the Karnaugh family sat in the bathroom half the night because of the shelling of the factory near their home. This event forced Svitlana to take Serhiy to his grandparents, in the beautiful village of Mayachka in the Donetsk region.

It would seem that here, among two majestic lakes surrounded by Ukrainian fields, mother and son will be able to recover a little from what they experienced. However, thoughts about Serhiyko’s future didn’t deliver Svitlana peace: “I want him to grow up and learn not in broken kindergartens, schools, and colleges. For now, unfortunately, no matter how much we love our native land, there is no future there,” the mother shared with pain.

Our rescuers evacuated the family to Dnipro, where Svitlana dreams above all else of returning to a normal life with her son and giving Serhiyko hope for a better future. We believe that mother and son will be successful in this.

Meanwhile, we remind you that the Save Ukraine team not only helps you and your relatives get out of danger but also provides comprehensive support after evacuation. For this, call our free hotline supported by USAID Ukraine: 0 800 333 129