Every day, Mariia dreamt of her home in Zaporizhzhia region. She has been living near Chernivtsi for three years now. She still painfully remembers her native village, which she had to leave because of the occupation. And not only the village itself, but also the native nature, steppes, friends and acquaintances.

The girl says that during the occupation, there were those who surprised her pleasantly, but there were also people in whom she was disappointed.

Mariia turned her memories into an essay that won a competition organised by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation.