Antonina is a mother of six children. She is raising 5 sons and a daughter on her own. The war forced the family to leave their home in Polonne, Zaporizhzhia.
“Before the war, everything was fine with us: the children went to school and kindergarten, I had a stable job - I worked at a company that makes ceramics,” she says. ”I loved my job very much: painting glaze on finished products was both work and a hobby for me. My husband and I are divorced, but he supported us financially, and I had a good salary. I didn't even apply for state financial assistance for my children - we had enough money for everything. But happiness and peace came to an end when the occupiers entered the city.”
Russian troops occupied Polonne on the third day of the full-scale invasion. “There were constant explosions in the city, the power went out, there was no food,” Antonina recalls. “It was impossible to get food: the shops were closed. Neighbors and acquaintances shared what they had with each other: someone gave the children flatbread, someone brought sour milk...
“We lived like that for more than a month... There were 2,000 pieces of enemy equipment not far from our house. The occupiers were already starting to go door to door... Then I clearly realized that we had no choice, we had to get out of the city. I had to evacuate on my own. We called the ambulance, the fire department, and the police. No one answered. So we left on foot - me, my brother, my daughter-in-law and the kids. I didn't risk taking all the children at once, so later I went back for Nazar and Vira. And again, two days on foot...” - she sighs, recalling those terrible times.
From Orikhiv, where they got on their own two feet, friends took Antonina and her children to Huliaypol. They lived there for six months. Then they sought a safer refuge in Bukovyna. Today, the family lives in the village of Staryi Khutir, Kremenchuk district, Poltava region, in a house provided by friends. Thanks to the support of the Family to Family project they managed to solve many important household issues: they renovated the summer kitchen, replaced a window in the house, and bought a refrigerator and boiler. “When we came into the house, it was almost empty,” Antonina recalls, ”We gradually settled in, and now we have the most necessary things. When we buy groceries, I am calm because we have a place to store them. In the summer, we lived without a refrigerator - it was difficult. Thanks to the boiler, we have warm water and can bathe. We bought firewood for the winter, and we'll buy warm clothes for the children, because they quickly outgrow what they have. For us, these funds from the project are a great help. Our heartfelt gratitude goes to the Polish families for their concern and kind hearts.”
Among the problems that concern her the most is the distance from the city, says Antonina. “There is no way to take children to school and to clubs 12 kilometers away. A minibus runs to the village several times a week. The older boys dream of boxing, and her daughter has a talent for drawing - she attended art classes before the war. Today, children study online. The school gave them two laptops to share. One of the sons goes to a village school.
Antonina is 32 years old. Romchyk, the youngest son, is one year and eight months old, Yaroslav is 7 years old, Vira is 10 years old, Nazar, Sashko and Ivan are 12, 13 and 15 years old, respectively. Sasha and Nazar are real inventors. They have a knack for electrical products, says their mother. “Do you need to fix an outlet? No problem - the boys can do it! And they made a device out of a broken bicycle that can be used to plow the land.
“My children help and support me a lot,” Antonina says. ”And what do they dream about? To return home... We all live with the thought of victory and returning to our home. Some of our relatives remained in the occupation. Older people, it was hard for them to decide to leave everything behind. And they would not have made it on foot... The communication with them is poor. Today my grandfather finally got through, but before that we had no news from them for three days: I was very worried. They are sitting without electricity. It's hard for everyone. But I believe that the war will end soon and peace will come. And that I will finally be able to hug my dearest people...”