Olena Ohol from Slovyansk
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Good day! My name is Olena. I am asking you for financial help. I would like to answer a few of your questions.
1. On the day the war broke out, I woke up in the morning to the explosions. I already heard these explosions in 2014. They were familiar to me. I realized that the war had started, that everything we had been told in the news that we were so afraid of had come true. Russia invaded Ukraine. It changed my life and the lives of my family.
2. On March 6, we moved to Truskavets, the Lviv region, before that we lived in Slovyansk, the Donetsk region. We heard explosions near Slovyansk. They were not yet in the town of Slovyansk, but nearby. There were sirens. I was scared because I have 2 small children. For 2 weeks, we were in the basement, in a state of constant fear. Then we realized that we can no longer live like this, we need to leave. The family decided to go to the west of Ukraine because it is a little calmer there. We did not want to leave our native Ukraine. We hope that soon everything will be over and Ukraine will finally win.
3. I worked as a choreographer before the war. I worked with children, taught dances, and did gymnastics. I had a cultural activity, my dance group. We took part in various championships. I was the organizer of these tournaments. We spent the holidays. Now, of course, the team is not working, and I lost my job.
4. I am not in the territory of occupied Slovyansk. I did not receive help.
5. The children were very afraid. I have 2 children. Nazar is 4.5 y.o. and Rynat is 2.5 y.o. Nazar already understands everything. We can’t invent something for a child for so long, so he understands that it’s a war. We also watch the news together, he hears talk about it. It’s hard to hide from a child. The youngest son was afraid of sirens. He is worried, but he seems to have endured it normally and without moral trauma. For me, as a mother, this is the main thing.
6. We have the status of internally displaced persons. We receive social benefits from the country. In total, I received 16,000 UAH in a few months. I did not receive any money from international organizations.
7. We pay 10,000 UAH for rent in Truskavets. We also pay for utilities 2000 UAH. Now the heating season is over, it should be a little less than utilities. Most of the money goes to rent. But we have to pay because we need to live somewhere. There was free housing, but it is already not free because there are many migrants, about 40 thousand. So far, we are renting an apartment, I don’t know. It is difficult to plan something.
8. The most needed funds to pay for housing. We need to rent it to keep the place that has already become our home.
9. The future of Ukraine is only a victory. To live under the Ukrainian flag, to live under a peaceful sky and only in Ukraine. It was possible to go abroad, but I want to stay in my homeland.
10. I am most afraid of not turning to Slovyansk. It is scary to imagine that my hometown can be occupied, that it can be taken away from us, that our house can be destroyed, and we will have nowhere to return. It is horrible to think that we can be some kind of DNR or some other appendix of Russia. This is the worst thing for me today.
Thank you to your organization for being you, for helping people. I will be grateful if they hear me. Thank you. Glory to Ukraine!