The story of Lyudmyla and her little granddaughter Nastia, whom we care for at our Center of Hope and Recovery, impressed many Save Ukraine readers. Our team reunited the family and evacuated them from danger. Today we would like to share with you the rest of their story, but first we would like to remind you the circumstances under which Mrs. Lyudmila and her granddaughter came under our wing.

When the full-scale war broke out, the Kotlyarov-Klipachov family found themselves in different parts of Donetsk region. Lyudmyla’s eldest daughter, along with 1.5-year-old Nastia, were in the village of Zvanivka, her mother sent her younger daughter, Tetiana, to Rai Oleksandrivka as far away from the shelling as possible, and Lyudmyla stayed in Siversk. All three survived as best they could and always kept in touch with each other.

However, on September 25, 2023, a terrible tragedy struck the family – a russian shell fell very close to little Nastia’s house and took her mother’s life. The young woman had just left the yard when the artillery shelling suddenly began.
The news of the sudden loss of her daughter hit Lyudmyla in the heart, but she gathered all her strength and went to get her granddaughter as soon as possible. Already in Kramatorsk, where Nastya was being examined, our Luhansk team managed to reunite the rest of the family with the girl. Later, they were evacuated to Dnipro, and from there Lyudmyla, her granddaughter and younger daughter took a train to Kyiv.

Our evacuation coordinator met them at the train station and brought the family to the Center of Hope and Recovery in Hatne. The entire Save Ukraine team understood that this family needed not only basic assistance with documents, food, etc., but also special support from professional psychologists and the community. We made every effort to help Lyudmyla cope with all the difficulties, because now she has become not only a grandmother but also a mother to Nastya.

Now the center’s team continues to help the family with the restoration of their mental state and social adaptation in a big city. We are not sure that time can heal mental wounds. But we know that care and human support can speed up the healing process.