"It was very scary, we didn't know where the next shell would hit"

My daughter, 12-year-old Violetta, feels uncomfortable in the damp basement. She wants to get out of there as soon as possible. Because in the summer of 2014, we had to hide underground for weeks while fighting was going on in the surrounding village of Karlivka. It was very scary, we didn't know where the next shell would hit.

Then we got used to it. Even the youngest daughter, four-year-old Marharyta did. 

I and my three daughters survived the attacks. However, the house we got as a wedding gift did not. The house was shaking from the shelling. Cracks started to appear, and the wall degressed.

I would really like to patch up the house, but I have no money. My husband was only recently able to get a job. Unfortunately, I lost my job.

Before the war, almost the entire population of Halytsynivka worked in Donetsk. Then bus rides were cancelled.  Communication with cities in the controlled territory resumed only five months ago. There are still frequent power outages and no water.

What you can't get used to is when a child finds 10 kopecks on the ground and brings them to you with the words, "Mom, report the money and let's go to the store and buy some candy!" And you understand that there is nothing to report. So you feel so helpless — it is very hard! The war destroyed my dream to have many children…