All stories
29.12.2025
Varia’s Two Homes
If it weren’t for the war, Varia—short for Varvara—would probably never have thought that a person could have two homes at once. She is 14 years old. She is from Zaporizhzhia, but she has been living in Truskavets for nearly three years. Her childhood stayed behind in her hometown, while here, in a new place, her adolescence continues, with all its joys and challenges.
Varia doesn’t always have enough time for an ordinary teenage life. Her day is scheduled minute by minute: online classes, clubs, tutors, and homework. She is still studying online at her Zaporizhzhia school.
Varia doesn’t always have enough time for an ordinary teenage life. Her day is scheduled minute by minute: online classes, clubs, tutors, and homework. She is still studying online at her Zaporizhzhia school.
I wake up at eight in the morning, and then classes begin. There can be seven, eight, or even nine, lasting until about three in the afternoon. In the evening, I do my homework as well. I love my Zaporizhzhia school and don’t want to move to another one. Sometimes I get tired, sometimes I don’t manage to keep up with everything, but studying is very important to me right now. My goal is to do well, because I believe my future depends on what I learn now,
Varia thinks about the future more and more often and returns to the past less and less. Yet some things cannot be forgotten. The first home on that so familiar street. The apartment where she knew every corner. Her own room—a desk by the window, books she loved to read from an early age, and the feeling that the world was understandable and orderly.
Varia’s home became a memory in March 2022, when she, her mother, sister, and grandmother left Zaporizhzhia. First, they went to the Lviv region, and later they settled in Truskavets.
Varia’s home became a memory in March 2022, when she, her mother, sister, and grandmother left Zaporizhzhia. First, they went to the Lviv region, and later they settled in Truskavets.
We consciously chose a small town. We wanted greenery and calm, so that the children could recover from constant shelling and air raid alarms. Truskavets fit exactly for that reason. It’s quiet, safe, and it’s easier to adapt here,
The move was not easy for Varia. During the first months in Truskavets, she hardly left the house. It was lonely and hard: Varia spent a lot of time alone. She drew, read, and gradually withdrew into herself. It seemed to her that the new city wasn’t hers, because there were no “her people.”
It was very hard for me. I didn’t want to go anywhere; I missed home, school, and my friends in Zaporizhzhia. I spent a lot of time being creative, but it didn’t replace face-to-face communication. I felt lonely,
For things to start changing, time was needed. First, Varia slowly began discovering Truskavets for herself. Later, she made new friends, and they gradually started to discover new places together.
Truskavets is smaller, and now I know it better than Zaporizhzhia. I’ve grown to love it, because I’m older now and more aware of myself, and this is where I have friends,
Voices of Children became an important part of this adaptation. The family began attending our Truskavets center in 2023. Her mother sought individual psychological support because she saw how difficult it was for her daughter to cope with change, withdrawal, and the anxiety of adolescence.
At first, Varia attended individual sessions with a psychologist; later, she joined group sessions, took up weaving, and went to Voices Camp—which, by the way, she registered for on her own.
At first, Varia attended individual sessions with a psychologist; later, she joined group sessions, took up weaving, and went to Voices Camp—which, by the way, she registered for on her own.
I saw that my daughter was suffering, and I didn’t always understand how to support her properly. The sessions helped me learn to hear Varia,
And the girl herself adds, “I think it’s worth going to a psychologist. Because this war affects our mental health, no matter what.”
Both a challenge and a source of support for Varia right now is her education. She studies well, takes part in informatics Olympiads—programming became her hobby back in seventh grade. She studies English, has taken up Italian, and dreams of traveling.
And when she has a bit of free time, Varia returns to music. Back in Zaporizhzhia, there was a synthesizer in her room, which she never quite managed to learn to play properly. Now music is returning to her life in another city. She returned to the piano after a three-year break.
Varia feels that Truskavets has already become part of her more self-aware life. A second home, with its dreams, goals, and people around her.
Both a challenge and a source of support for Varia right now is her education. She studies well, takes part in informatics Olympiads—programming became her hobby back in seventh grade. She studies English, has taken up Italian, and dreams of traveling.
And when she has a bit of free time, Varia returns to music. Back in Zaporizhzhia, there was a synthesizer in her room, which she never quite managed to learn to play properly. Now music is returning to her life in another city. She returned to the piano after a three-year break.
Varia feels that Truskavets has already become part of her more self-aware life. A second home, with its dreams, goals, and people around her.
I miss Zaporizhzhia. But if I leave here, I’ll already miss the people I met here. Friendship, for me, is when someone can listen to you without judging. And when you can trust them. And I met people like that right here, in Truskavets,
It is precisely the people around her who have become Varia’s support. With them, the girl has also gained a sense of home.
The Voices of Children center in Truskavets is supported by Terre des Hommes (Germany) within a project aimed at strengthening the quality of mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS) for children and ensuring the ethical coverage of children’s experiences of war.
In our regional centers, teenagers can find a community of like-minded peers, receive psychological support, and take part in creative activities and games. If needed, anyone can also contact our free psychological support helpline for children and parents: 0 800 210 106.
In our regional centers, teenagers can find a community of like-minded peers, receive psychological support, and take part in creative activities and games. If needed, anyone can also contact our free psychological support helpline for children and parents: 0 800 210 106.
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