Natalia, her daughter Tetiana, and 12-year-old granddaughter Daria will never forget the terrible 9 months they lived in occupied Beryslav in the Kherson region. Their life in the house, where four generations coexisted peacefully, turned into a struggle for survival.

It all started on February 24, when Russian tanks and armored vehicles broke into the city. The occupiers quickly captured Beryslav and stationed their troops in civilian yards. They began to rob the population and take away people’s houses.

“After a week, food disappeared, and after a month – water. The meat was getting less and less, so we ate mostly stew. And when we managed to get a chicken, we cooked broth only for the child,” recalls Natalia.

Little Daria was afraid to let her mother go even to the store. “And if mom gets hurt, who will help her?” the girl asked.

Indeed, no one was immune from the lawlessness of the occupiers. Once, a Russian soldier pounced on grandmother Natalia, demanding that she wear a scarf and a dressing gown “like his mother.” And when the woman cried out in desperation: “Should I wear a burqa?” She received a severe blow to the jaw and lost her teeth.

The family delayed the evacuation long, hoping to save their native home. But when the shelling became unbearable, they had to flee. Thanks to the volunteers of East SOS, the Dzhaman family got out of the occupation. Later went into the care of Save Ukraine.

Natalia, her daughter, and her granddaughter live in a cozy modular house in Dmytrivka. After all the horrors they had to go through, they can finally breathe freely. Daria again paints bright pictures, chasing away the shadows of war with a magical brush.

“You treat us so well. You care so sincerely about us,” Natalia says with tears in her eyes. And she adds that she used to thank God and people, and now — people and God.

Step by step, day by day, Natalia, Tatiana, and Daria heal their wounds and restore their faith in the future. We also believe that the worst is behind them, and now, a life filled with warmth and hope awaits the family.

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