Mariya Zhechkova from Odesa
Hello! My name is Mariya. We are from the Odesa region. We lived in the city of Odesa when the war began. On February 24, at 4:50 am, we woke up to an explosion. A few hours later there was a second explosion, and a few minutes later – the third. We fled in panic to the Odesa region to the village. The worst was the first explosion. It’s hard to put into words. For another 2 days, I did not understand what was happening. In Odesa, I worked as a painter. Now we are in the village, it is difficult to find a job here, in fact, it does not exist. I do not receive social benefits. I have 3 children. I am a single mother. The eldest daughter Anastasia is 11 years old, there is also a son Ivan, 10 years old, and a daughter Oleksandra, 4 years old. At first, the children were very scared and panicked. We received one-time assistance from the Ukrainian Unity Foundation and one package of humanitarian aid. We have not received any assistance since then. We need financial support. In 3 months there were a lot of debts for utilities, and I have no money to pay them. Very difficult. We believe that soon everything will end and fall into place. Ukraine is strong and not victorious. Thank you!