Iryna is from Kharkiv. She has never left the city, despite the danger she has been in for the past three years. Every explosion, every air raid alert is stress and fear of death.

“I grew up too fast”, she says sadly. She would like a completely different childhood.

Iryna doesn’t know what she wants to be yet, but she definitely sees herself in volunteering. She won the Museum of Civilian Voices’ 2024 essay contest, taking the 1st place.