My name is Nastya. I am 17 years old. My Mom, Maria, is 57 years old. We are from a small city, Dubrovica, in the Rovne district, located 30 km (18 miles) from the border with Belarus. Before the war, my Mom had a job, and I was in 11th grade and focused a lot of my time on social work. I had been involved in many youth organizations, “Ukrainian Volunteers,” “Build Ukraine Together,” “Let’s do it, Ukraine,” and “u Report.” For two years, I held the post of the ambassador of a UN/UNICEF project “World’s Largest Lesson,” organized in Ukraine together with Aisec.
In addition, I am a young researcher, and this year I have presented three papers to the Small Academy of Science. In the evening of February 23, I was preparing a paper to be presented at a science conference. At 5 am the next morning, Mom woke me up with the words “the war has begun.” School lessons were cancelled, but not my presentation. I was getting ready to leave, preparing nervously, reading the news, and all my preparation evaporated. Thankfully, the presentation and the conference were cancelled in the last moment.
Our house is in the vicinity of the road to Belarus. The sight of the military equipment being moved was extremely frightening. We were gathering our suitcases when the air raids started and we had to run to a shelter. I couldn’t fall asleep, and when I did sleep for a couple of hours, I was waking up with almost purple hands, because I was squeezing them out of fear in my sleep. The sounds of the tanks moving by our house, the missiles and the drones were terrifying. I have been preparing all year for the high school matriculation exams, but they have been cancelled. We do not know when we can graduate. The universities I planned to apply to have been bombed.
We decided to leave our home. My Mom and I want to start a new life; she will work, and I will study and gain new experiences. I have always been dreaming about the development of my country. I believe that one day I will be able to come back and help build New Ukraine. The Hummingbird Effort Foundation assisted us with the evacuation to Poland. They have provided us with a home in Gdynia, food, clothes and all the necessities. They have also secured a sponsor for us in the UK and are helping us with the paperwork necessary to obtain the UK visa. We are very grateful for their help.
