Liudmyla Mykhailenko, the head of Chaikivka village in the Zhytomyr region, recounts how, from the first days of the full-scale invasion, their community became a rear stronghold for the frontline and a temporary refuge for hundreds of displaced people. In February and March 2022, they provided shelter to hundreds of refugees. Most were residents of the Kyiv and Donetsk regions, including people from Bucha, Irpin, Demydiv, Ivankiv, and the Makariv district.

Liudmyla recalls how, during the most intense weeks,  she appealed to her fellow villagers, asking them to offer any vacant houses. People agreed immediately. A separate wave of arrivals came from the village of Nizhylovychi, which had suffered from direct strikes:  dozens of houses burned down in less than half an hour. Fifty people arrived — in a village with 500 local residents. They were settled in homes and assisted with clothing, food, and heating. Among them were elderly people, large families, and single women. 

From autumn 2022, displaced people from the South also began arriving in Chaikivka. Families from Kherson came — some with three, some with five children. Around fifty displaced people live in the community permanently. They work, take part in village life, join volunteer efforts, and their children attend school. All of them have become part of a new shared home, stitched together with warmth and support.