My name is Alyona Minkovska. I was born in Ukraine on April 9, 1980. I have three children and a husband. My eldest daughter, 17 year-old Margarita, was in her last year of high school and preparing for her entrance exams for university. My second daughter is 13 year-old Lisa. I also have a 5 year-old son named Vlad. I worked as a kindergarten teacher and an interior decorator. We lived together in our own apartment in Rivne. Our city is very beautiful and green. On the morning of February 24, we learned that the war had begun and that the occupiers were attacking civilians from neighbors who saw it in the news. On this day, everyone was panicking and rushing to buy food, gasoline and medicine. There were traffic jams and long lines at the gas stations where only 20 liters were issued per car and even then there was not enough gas for everyone. The market had empty shelves.
After the panic, the city became quet. We were very afraid that day. It was very scary to be in the city. On the next day at 5 a.m. we woke up from the explosions of the occupiers’ missiles that bombed the Rivne airport. During the day there was an air raid alarm several times. When the alarm sounded during we ran to the basement. We could not get to the bomb shelter because it was too far from us. That night we decided to go to Poland. For 2 days we were in line to cross the border. I was traveling with a friend and conditions were difficult because there were two adults and 5 children in one car. We went without food and we didn’t have the clothes we needed. But thank God the volunteers that worked on the border gave us sandwiches with tea. While we were standing in line we heard explosions. The children were crying and scared. All the people were very nervous because they were tired and afraid of the explosions.
We entered Poland at 3:00 am. Volunteers helped us get to the school which was being used as a refugee center. Once we were there we had the opportunity to rest after the long road we had traveled. In the morning we were given food and clothes. We were also helped with transportation to get us to Gdynia. Once we arrived in Gdynia, two volunteers, Dorota and Maja, opened the doors to their home and let us stay there with them. For days, people who wanted to help us came to us with clothes, hygiene products, food and toys. There are still 2 mothers and 3 children living in the house with us, who also found themselves in the same situation as we did. More families are arriving this weekend. My husband Alexander worked as a pharmacist before the war. Currently, my husband is also involved in volunteering and helping people to leave the cities of Kharkiv and Kyiv and get to a safer place in Lviv. I cry a lot because he is very tired and sleeps for only 4 hours a night because he is on the road all the time. We want to thank the Hummingbird Effort Foundation from the bottom of our hearts for its great help. We are very pleased that in such a difficult time there are people who are not indifferent to us and our situation. May God with you.
