Before the large-scale escalation of war, Liudmyla was an entrepreneur and a hairstylist in Khrakiv. “On 24th February, approximately at 4am, I woke up after sounds of explosions.”, she describes. The first week she hid in the basement of her apartment building. From time to time she had to leave the basement to go to a shop and buy some more food or to go to her apartment to take a quick shower, cook something simple and change clothes. All of that in under 20 minutes. “On 1st March a rocket hit the neighbouring building and destroyed a flat on the 9th floor. It was the moment when I realised I had to flee.”, she remembers vividly.

“The biggest challenge was the trip abroad: long way, several changes of transport, constant shelling, cold, fear and thoughts about death.”, she describes.

Once she got to Romania, JRS helped her and her family to pay the rent and public utilities. “For me, JRS support is a pure evidence that there are good people in this world who care about others and who are ready to share everything they have. They make this world a better place and they give hope for the desperate ones. Thank you!”. JRS is helping Lesya

and many other Ukranian refugees to keep hope alive in these difficult times and to believe in a brighter future. Currently, she’s planning to stay in Romania, she’s settling in, and so is her family. Her daughter is also going to university there.

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 Liudmyla. You can read more about The One Proposal: the coordinated Jesuit response to support the Ukraine Crisis here.