Hello, my name is Katya and I’m 9 years old.
My city, Izium, which is near Kharkiv, was attacked and occupied by Russia in early March. It was very scary. My Mom and I with a few other families were hiding in the basement from Russian soldiers with very little food and water for over a week. We heard bombing and shelling everyday, everything was shaking and we were very scared. Sometimes we were in the dark with only candles and flashlights.
On March 10th, we decided to run with another family to the Ukrainian side. We had to walk at night for over 5 hours till we reached the guard post with our Ukrainian soldiers. We were so happy to be safe....
Then we traveled by car to the village Blagodatne outside of Cherkasy where we are staying with my Aunt and Uncle. We left everything behind and had very few belongings, so we had to start fresh. Recently, we heard that our building was bombed and unliveable anymore. So we don’t have a home to come back to. We can still hear air sirens from time to time, but we are used to it now.
One day we got a call that an American organization is helping refugee kids with winter jackets, I was very happy to receive one and for that I’m very grateful! It helps me to stay warm and I really like it! also fits me perfectly.
We also just heard that the same AUAF group is organizing an event for kids like me on International Children’s Day at the Stadium in Cherkasy May 27th. I’m very excited to take part in the running competition, since I like to run and also play badminton. I’m very grateful for helping kids like me. I really hope that we will finally have peace and war will end soon, so the kids and Ukrainian people don’t have to suffer anymore.
Thank you American Ukrainian Aid Foundation for your help!
