“If children are running somewhere, it means there is danger; we need to hide,” thought 7-year-old Alisa when she first saw children playing tag in our center. She spent almost three years under occupation without the chance to play carefreely outside with peers.

After February 24, the town where the Petrenko family lived was occupied. Explosions sounded from all sides, enemy tanks appeared on the streets, and occupiers began moving from yard to yard. Svitlana was afraid to let her son Nazar and daughter Alisa go outside. So, they played in the yard behind the house. At any moment, soldiers could enter the yard and demand to see documents, phones, and all electronic devices.

Svitlana’s phone had things to worry about. Before the war, she worked as a social educator in a vocational school, caring for students from underprivileged categories. Many of them lived in dormitories because they had no relatives. So, she had to hide her phone with photos of events and other information.

When the town became unsafe for her Svitlana moved to her parents’ village with her children. But she didn’t leave her job—there were still many orphans in the dormitory. Together with her colleagues, they took turns staying overnight with the students. Eventually, they began to send the children to relatives, and the institution switched to online learning.

Difficult months began. The occupiers searched for the student database, wanting to open their institution. They came to the teachers’ houses with searches and threats. “When they took the director from his office, we understood they would look for orphan documents. There was the entire database in my safe…,” Svitlana recalls. The director was held for two weeks, not allowed to receive medicine, even though he had heart problems.

Occupiers came to her home three times, offering cooperation: teaching at their school or working in notary offices. But Svitlana refused. However, this year, Alisa turned 7, which meant the occupiers wouldn’t let up—they would force her to attend their school. So, the woman began looking for a way to leave and found information about Save Ukraine.

The Petrenkos had to wait seven hours for their documents at the border, but finally, the whole family was safe. In our center, psychologists are helping them recover. Alisa is gradually finding friends and no longer fears running with other children. Nazar has also become more open and talks more. Svitlana will work as a social educator in our center now—helping other families who have experienced occupation to recover.

“We have learned to see the good in everything. And most importantly, we have started to live,” the woman smiles.

Occupation leaves invisible wounds. Share this video so that more people understand how important it is to help those who have experienced the traumatic effects of war.