Andrii Ryzhenko was a father-educator in a family-type orphanage. For more than 15 years, he and his wife have been giving love to children who cannot live with their biological parents. During that time, many pupils have already begun an independent life and still remain part of the large Ryzhenko family. 

Their first adopted son, Oleksandr, ended up in Mariupol on February 24, 2022. He worked at the railway as a passenger car attendant and arrived by train Lviv–Mariupol. He could not leave the city until almost the end of March. And then he almost became a prisoner of war.

At the beginning of a full-scale invasion, 8 pupils remained in the Ryzhenko family-type orphanage. They lived near Melitopol. In anticipation of the invasion, construction of a new spacious house began. But from the first days of the war, they were in occupation. 

It took almost half a year to adapt to the new reality – checkpoints, tanks on the streets, people with weapons... But when the question arose about the compulsory education of children in a Russian school, Ryzhenko packed up and left in one day. Moved closer to Zaporizhzhia. They are waiting for the liberation of Melitopol to return home...