Gift of Hope

Olga, 32, and her two daughters, Sasha (almost 3) and Nastia (17), lived in Mykolayiv, Ukraine. Like most families, they woke up to the war early on February 24, 2022. Olga, her daughters, her husband, and her parents saw the horrors of the war on the first day, as Mykolayiv basically became the frontlines. Russian tanks were close to the town a few days later. Olga’s parents are older people who both have disabilities, which made it impossible for them to evacuate. They needed special transportation for that, which was impossible to find. So, the decision was made for Olga’s husband to stay at home with the parents, and for Olga to leave with the girls. They made it to the evacuation bus that went to Poland. Four days later, they were in Krakow. Nastia was a huge help to her mother and little sister in Poland, as she had…

Yulia and her two daughters, 6-year-old Anastasia and 2-year-old Emilia, fled the war from the town of Boryspil just outside of Kyiv. Yulia’s family experienced all the horrors of war in the very first hours of the Russian terrorists’ attack. Russia’s first missiles were aimed at military bases and airports. The town of Boryspil, where Yulia lived with her husband and daughters, was home to Ukraine’s primary and largest airport. No wonder it was among the very first targets on February 24. From her window, Yulia, who lived in a high-rise apartment building, could see and hear the explosions around the airport. Horror and helplessness overwhelmed her. Yulia’s little daughters started to cry, covering their ears as the explosions could be heard very close to their house. A few days later, as the Russian occupation forces proceeded to take over more and more territory in the Kyiv region, Yulia’s husband…

Yulia is 32 and has cerebral palsy. She has lived in her home village of Lezhyne her entire life and has never been anywhere else. When Yulia was born, her mother, Natalia, was devastated and tried to get help for her daughter, but after learning there is no cure, she accepted Yulia’s disability and did her very best to care for her only daughter.   When the war started in Ukraine, things became very challenging for this family. The Zaporizhzhia region where they lived was being shelled regularly. A few days ago, a missile hit close to Natalia’s home, and all the windows in their home were shattered. Another missile hit her neighbors’ house, leaving no survivors. Despite this ever-present danger, Natalia has just accepted this new reality, and continues to care for Yulia with no plans to evacuate.   School Without Walls leaders trained by Mission Eurasia and their partner Vladimir…