Lyudmila describes her hometown of Pokrovsk as “a small mining town burdened with a difficult and tragic fate” and “shattered by war”. Yet, it was HER hometown and hosted all the dear memories of her life.

Then the full-scale war reached her doorstep. As she remembers, “Due to devastating shelling, my two sons, who were 5 and 9 years old at the time, my mother, and I were forced to leave our home, abandon our jobs, and flee. Everything familiar and dear to us was left behind — memories of my children’s happy childhood and belongings that tied us to my late husband”.

But leaving her hometown was just the first challenge and she was unsure of which would be her next step. “We travelled into the unknown. It’s a terrible feeling, not knowing what lies ahead while bearing responsibility for an entire family”, she recalls.

“With no income and limited resources, we ended up living for several months in a kindergarten room that usually served as a playroom for children. Fifteen people shared the space, and we slept on mattresses on the floor. Still, it was better than living in constant fear at home”, she adds.

Later, Lyudmila decided to move to Lviv to provide special care for younger son, where they met JRS. As she puts it, “Fate brought us to JRS. If this meeting with JRS had not happened, I don’t know if we could have managed on our own under such circumstances”.

Lyudmila and her family have called the JRS shelter home for two years now and they found a lot more than housing in it. “This support is invaluable. Psychological support and the time given to us to adjust to our new life have been particularly valuable. We feel care and support in everything. The opportunity to speak and be heard is extremely important to us”, she explains.

Looking forward, unfortunately, the situation remains uncertain. “The situation remains unstable and extremely difficult for the country, but we plan to stay in Ukraine”, she mentions when looking forward.

JRS is working together with the Xavier Network, Concordia Moldova, the Society of Jesus in Europe, local civil society, and NGOs in a coordinated Jesuit response. Together we help thousands of people like Lyudmila. You can read more about The One Proposal at: jrseurope.org/en/project/the-one-proposal/.