“The most important thing is to be with your child and to be safe.”

Maryna from the village of Volodymyrivka in Donetsk region is raising her four-year-old son.
Before the war, she had a peaceful life — her own home, a small household, and a job as a shop assistant. It seemed that hostilities would not reach their village, but the explosions gradually came closer.
When the full-scale invasion began, her son was only three months old. Maryna recalls that at the time, she feared not for herself but for her child. She is grateful she managed to give birth before the war started, having heard stories of women forced to deliver under shelling, in basements.

Over time, the situation in the community worsened: drones flew overhead, and attacks targeted infrastructure and factories. When the frontline came within several dozen kilometers, Maryna decided to evacuate. The hardest part for her was leaving home and family — but the thought of her child’s safety gave her strength.

In September 2025, she and her son left for Pavlohrad. There, at a transit center, specialists from the NGO Responsible Citizens registered her to receive multipurpose cash assistance.

Maryna recalls: “Everything went very smoothly. The specialists took care not only of me but also of my son — they took him to the playroom so I could calmly fill in the forms. It may seem like a small thing, but for a mother with a small child, it means a lot.”

Maryna used the received assistance for essential needs — food and warm clothing. After all she had been through, it helped her feel at least a bit of stability.

Now Maryna and her son live with relatives in Dnipro. The city is familiar to her, so adapting was easier. She hopes the frontline will not advance further — and that she will not have to flee again. Her biggest dream is peace and returning home.

The NGO Responsible Citizens continues registering people for multipurpose cash assistance at the transit centers in Pavlohrad and Lozova, within the project “Local, Inclusive and Multi-sectoral Emergency Assistance to People Affected by the War in Ukraine”, implemented in partnership with Mercy Corps Ukraine and financially supported by the Government of the United Kingdom.