Olena Serhiivna, along with her daughter Daria and mother Raisa Mykolaivna, had been escaping from war not for the first time. For the past 5 years, they rented a home in Svatove, Luhansk region. However, in March 2022, the territory was occupied by Russians. Mrs. Olena, who had been a primary school teacher for 26 years, continued to work in the Ukrainian school until the last moment, teaching children to love their homeland and language. But in May 2022, occupiers forced schools to switch to the Russian language and Russian educational standards. Russian forced teachers to switch but Olena Serhiivna was strongly against this. Eventually, she took her documents and resigned. 

To feed her family and provide medicine for her diabetic mother, Mrs. Olena had to work for a local farmer. Throughout this time, 17-year-old Daria supported her mother and helped care for her grandmother. However, the pressure on the pro-Ukrainian population in the occupation intensified daily, and people began to be persecuted. The “good” neighbors occasionally disclosed the Yevdokienko family’s pro-Ukrainian attitude. The occupational authorities had been getting used to threatening and psychologically pressuring the family.

The family had been living in constant fear. Olena hid her daughter from occupiers to prevent her from being forced to study in a Russian school. One day, a rashist of the occupying forces came to them, threatening, beating, and attempting physical violence. It was the last straw for the family.

Therefore, one morning, Olena gathered their belongings and approached transporters who helped her leave the occupation through the only humanitarian checkpoint at Kolotylivka-Pokrovka.

However, crossing the border wasn’t plain. At first, the women had to undergo a horrifying and lengthy filtration in Kolotylivka. Then, the most challenging part awaited them – the pedestrian border crossing. No transportation operates in this part of the checkpoint. So, Olena, along with her daughter and wheelchair-bound mother, had to walk entirely to Sumy.

Only after the Yevdokienko family reached the city, they were able to contact an evacuation coordinator from the Save Ukraine Foundation. The women were reassured, taken to the station, and brought to our “Hope and Healing” center in Hatne. Here, Olena, her daughter, and her mother were warmly welcomed, provided with everything necessary, helped with documents, and received medical help.

Currently, center staff is working to help the family with housing, support Daria in resuming her education, and assist Olena in finding employment. She dreams of teaching young Ukrainians again because, for her, children are a breath of fresh air; she lives for their smiles, sincerity, and openness.