UKRAINE – In wartime, life can turn upside down overnight. For struggling Ukrainian refugees like Svitlana and her family, it did. And for many families like hers, the rebuilding will take years. She recalls, “When the bombs hit our city, we spent the night in the basement. In the morning, our apartment was destroyed! It was completely gone.”
It’s hard to imagine what it would be like to walk up the basement stairs after a sleepless night only to discover your home is missing—and memories are all that remain. Before Russia invaded, Ukrainian citizens lived in peace. They were able to go to work without fearing for their lives or wondering if their children had a future. Svitlana gave people manicures; she helped women feel beautiful, providing for her children in the process—until that fateful day.
Struggling Ukrainian Refugees Get Support From Operation Blessing
Her family had no choice but to flee the area and find safe haven. At last, they did, at a shelter in Lviv where you helped to meet them with love, support and supplies for their daily needs. One of the primary struggles for families on the move is maintaining a sense of normalcy. Without routines, the smallest things can make people—especially children—feel insecure. That’s why Operation Blessing brought washers and dryers to the shelter to make simple, necessary tasks like washing clothes less of a burden.
Another way you showed your compassion was by bringing joy to the most vulnerable among Ukrainian refugees: the little ones. One of the most normal—and wonderful— things in the world is having a birthday party, but children like Svitlana’s 8-year-old daughter skipped their birthdays when they fled for their lives. So Operation Blessing helped them celebrate right where they were—with food, festivities, and special gifts for each child.
You also made it possible to provide Svitlana with the tools she needed to earn a living while trying to start again. Now, with a complete manicure set in hand, she’s already taking steps to build a new future one client at a time. Her words say it all: “I’m very grateful to Operation Blessing for getting me all the things I need to continue doing what I love. I’m very grateful to you.”
