The Road to Safety and the Dream of a Home: The Story of a Family from Kalanchak
September is always special in Kalanchak, Kherson region. It’s the time when the steppes are covered with a golden haze. The air smells of the sea, though it lies 30 kilometers away. September is also when the town usually marks its birthday.
It was in September that, fleeing the occupation, Tetiana left with her three children—Yehor, Oleksii, and Nastia. It was exactly three years ago. Now the family lives in Modrychi, in the Lviv region. There are no steppes here, and the sea is nearly 700 kilometers away. But this is where the family found a quiet place to live and has already adapted to their new life. This summer, the Voices of Children Charitable Foundation helped them adjust by organizing creative activities for children through mobile teams.
Tetiana: A Mother Who Saved Her Family
Tetiana, the mother of Yehor, Oleksii, and Nastia, lived in Kalanchak from early childhood. She worked as the artistic director at the local cultural center. Even being under occupation, she could not hide her love for Ukraine, and that love put her in danger. Threats began after one of her patriotic posts on Facebook. Over time, staying in her hometown became increasingly dangerous.
I didn’t want my children to study in a Russian school. I was threatened because of my views. Then I was frightened even to walk outside,
Tetiana recalls.
But the decision to leave was tough. Tetiana knew she was leaving everything behind—her home, her job, her familiar life. She also realized that she would lose contact with relatives divided by conflicting political views.
Emotionally, it was incredibly hard. I had lived in Kalanchak all my life, but staying there meant putting myself and my children in danger. I’m not sure that if I had chosen to stay, I’d still be free—or even alive,
She sighs.
On the evening of September 11, 2022, after three weeks of waiting, Tetiana got a message about a volunteer evacuation. The very next morning, she and her children—along with their cat, Stepan—boarded a bus.
We hadn’t planned to take Stepan with us. But that last evening before leaving, he kept circling us, cuddling up, as if sensing something horrible,
She recalls.
Something horrible did come—at a checkpoint near Nova Maiachka, one drunk Russian soldier threatened to shoot the bus carrying 20 passengers, including nine children. He fired shots into the air, terrifying people until he was finally persuaded to let them go. When the bus finally reached a Ukrainian checkpoint, Tetiana cried—from tension, worrying, and… relief.
We hugged our own people; we wanted to kiss them. I said then that it felt like we escaped from the past into the future,
Tetiana says.
After eight months under occupation, Tetiana was stunned by the low prices in Ukrainian stores—food and hygiene items were far cheaper than in the regions occupied by Russia. In Zaporizhzhia, they rested for a few days before taking an evacuation train to Lviv, then on to Modrychi, a village between Boryslav and Truskavets. There, they settled in a local health resort.
Stepan, their little talisman, as the family called him, lived with them for another year, becoming part of their new story.
A New Life
Yehor, the eldest son, is now 19. He adapted to the new life pretty quickly: he needed to continue his studies and start working as soon as possible to help his mother. Nastia, who is nine now, adjusted easily too. But for Oleksii, the move was challenging. The new school and surroundings initially felt hostile to him. It took time for him to get used to the new life. He celebrated his 12th birthday already here.
In Modrychi, the family found shelter in a local health resort. They feel comfortable here: two rooms for the family and everything they need. A local school, nature trails, and a lake are all nearby. Tetiana continues working remotely as the artistic director for the Kalanchak community and also works at one of the hotels in Truskavets.
Of course, money is tight; we are still fighting for IDP benefits, but I don’t regret leaving. There, neither I nor my children would be safe,
She says.
Creative Awakening with Voices of Children
This summer, Nastia, the youngest in the family, met the Voices of Children team. During the holidays, the Foundation’s mobile team from the Truskavets hub organized creative activities in Modrychi. This was within a project of
Terre des Hommes (Germany) aimed at strengthening mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services for children and ensuring the ethical coverage of their experiences of the war. According to leisure specialist Yuliia Zhuravchak, the first meetings were a real challenge.
When we first arrived, almost all the children were glued to their gadgets. It was hard to persuade anyone to put their tablets aside. At the first introductory session, we made clay figures, but organizing the activity was tough—it seemed as if the kids were rebelling against any instructions or rules.
The adults, on the other hand, showed great interest. They eagerly filled out questionnaires and wanted to know more about the children’s activities. Each subsequent visit became an experiment.
The team brought everything needed for creativity: paints, beads, threads, clay, and board games. Together with the children, they painted, made cut-outs, sculpted clay figures, and played board games. When they decided to hold sessions in a gazebo outdoors, the children completely forgot about their gadgets and immersed themselves in creativity. Eventually, even a regular group formed, eagerly waiting for the Voices of Children bus to arrive.
News spreads fast in Modrychi. Children started greeting us with happy shouts of ‘Hurray! You’ve come!’ and asked us to return again,
Yuliia laughs.
Nastia loved painting the most, but was also excited to try new activities.
Dreams for the future
Tetiana’s family dreams of a home of their own—even a small one, but truly theirs.
We’ve always lived in rented apartments or houses, and now in a health resort. We want a place of our own,
She says.
The children have already grown fond of this town. They often relax by the lake, ride bikes, and go mushroom-picking in the forest. Yehor dreams of building a career abroad. Oleksii already has friends here. Nastia paints and dreams of attending dance classes—she had just started in her hometown of Kalanchak, but then Russia’s full-scale invasion began.
They all still miss their home, but their desire to return to Kalanchak has grown weaker because they’ve already come to love their life here.
