Hello. My name is Halyna, and I live in Odesa, Ukraine. The living conditions are as follows: in a two-room apartment live my parents, myself, and my three children. It is very difficult to survive on a tiny half-time salary. I cannot afford a full-time job because there are no places available in kindergartens. The school is operating online. I am grateful to my eldest daughter, who helps take care of the younger ones while I work, just to make ends meet. Thanks to the support from the "Fundacja Kooperacja" charity, the children have many useful things and even small joys for the little ones. Thank you so much for everything you are doing for us during this difficult time.

Hello. We are a foster family from Berdyansk - a single mother, three minor children, two of them are adopted and the eldest daughter is a student. When hostilities began in 2022, we lived under occupation for 3 months, the children sat at home, without heating, did not study, soldiers walked around the city with machine guns, and explosions were heard. the shops were empty, we couldn’t leave because evacuation buses weren’t allowed into the city, when leaving the territory controlled by Ukraine, cars stood in queues for 3-5 days, we miraculously left the second time. With 4 children and 2 cats, we reached Lviv, then settled in the Ivano-Frankivsk region with kind people, where we lived for a year and a half. The eldest daughter entered a university in Odessa, then we all moved to live in Odessa. We rent housing. We live on social payments and assistance from funds. All property remained under occupation. The children are studying, the boy had eye surgery.

The distribution was conducted to citizens of Ukraine who are directly on the front line of the invasion. The guys are immensely grateful for the donation of this footwear. In field conditions and during the winter period, it is very necessary for the soldiers of Ukraine. In the photo, you will see a team of guys who are on the defense of the Kherson region, where active combat operations are taking place. Elena, together with her husband Vitaliy, decided to defend their home, the lives of their loved ones, and their country. Despite the difficult conditions and the not-so-feminine work, the girl does not despair, believes in victory, and helps the strong men in everything. And the feeling that they are coping with difficulties together with her husband only strengthens their love, family, and faith in a better life without war. We express our deep gratitude to donors for donating quality shoes for all of us and for everything you do for Ukraine.

Halyna lived all her life in the village of Bilozerka, Kherson region. Life went on as usual: there was work, family, and grandchildren — but in one moment, everything ended: the war came, bringing sorrow, destruction, and separation from loved ones. Halyna survived not only the occupation but also the flooding when the Kakhovka HPP was blown up. One sunny day, the woman was sitting in the yard, resting, when she heard a loud whistle, followed by the sound of an explosion. Bricks fell from the house, dust rose, and, as Halyna recalls, she didn’t even have time to understand what happened — it all happened so fast. It was a direct hit. Currently, the village is shelled every day, rockets fly constantly, but the homeowner does not want to leave her house because everything she built in her life is here. Halyna says: "It's scary, but I want to wait for peace right here at home, so that it doesn't happen somewhere else."

Nastenka (1 year and 8 months) is the daughter of a serviceman who is currently on the front lines defending Ukraine. I, the mother, do not work, as I care for the children. In the fall, when a rocket hit the city of Chernomorsk, our house was bombed. My daughter received minor injuries, but her brother was unharmed. Due to the lack of housing, we moved to Odesa to live with friends. Thanks to the “I Will Help” foundation and the compassionate volunteers who always find the necessary items, we are practically provided with everything we need, which greatly helps us save and not lack essential items during this challenging time. At the foundation’s distribution site, we received many essential items — clothes, shoes, toys, hygiene products, antiseptics, and laundry detergent. We express our deepest gratitude to the foundation and all donors for the assistance provided to our family and to the entire people of Ukraine. You are doing a great job, and without your help, it would be extremely difficult for people in tough situations due to hostilities to survive. Marina Klimenko, Odesa.

Hello. My name is Lidiya. I am from Odesa, Ukraine. It so happened that I became a mother of four children. Under tragic circumstances, I lost my sister, and her little ones became mine. It is very hard for me. My husband lost his job. After all, there is a war in Ukraine. And children are children. They want to eat, they want toys, and they need school supplies to study, and like everyone else, they sometimes get sick. We are very grateful for any support. The war has taken so much from us.

My name is Lyubov, I am from Kharkov. For the first 12 days of the war, I lived in the basement of the house. Hailstones flew, bombed, and destroyed houses. Five floors of our nine-story building were demolished, and many of my neighbors died. I jumped out and ran wherever my eyes looked, I didn’t know what to do next, I cried, screamed, but there was only one way out: to leave Kharkov. I reached the railway station, it was overcrowded with millions of people, trains took everyone out of the city for free. It was very scary, but the railway workers calmed us down and restored a little order so that there would be no hysterics. I decided to go to the city of Odessa, it was a foreign city for me, but there were volunteers at the station, they helped me rent an apartment and paid the rent. It was very difficult and scary, a foreign city, there were no cash reserves, I survived thanks to a charity organization, I will help. They dressed me, gave me food, hygiene products, ecolab pink liquid soap, and everything I needed. Without the help of the foundation, I simply would not have survived, for which I have been grateful to them for 2 years - now this is my family.

I remember the past more and more often... We are a family from Odesa. After the birth of our daughter, we dreamed of a future together, but everything changed on February 24, 2022, when the war began. Explosions and fear surrounded us, and we quickly decided to escape to Moldova to protect our daughter from the horrors of war, separating us from my husband. After arriving in Moldova, we felt a temporary sense of safety, but we missed our home and family. Faced with the decision to stay or return, we chose to go back together. Life was tough; my husband's salary decreased, and we struggled to find work and afford housing. With no bomb shelters in local kindergartens, I couldn’t send my daughter to school. Despite receiving minimal child benefits, we lacked enough for basic needs. After finding the "I Will Help" Charitable Foundation through a friend, we received crucial support, including clothes, hygiene products, and food. Without their help, we wouldn't have survived. We pray daily for the war to end so we can enjoy life without fear for our daughter, who witnessed the destruction of our city.

Victoria, 06.07.2022, Kherson, Ukraine When the war began, Victoria was still in her mother’s womb. After a few days of waiting at home, believing that this wouldn’t last long, her mother gave up and went with her father to look for medicine and food in Kherson. They didn’t want to leave the city. But when the occupiers took over the city, there was no choice left. They decided to wait for the birth of their daughter. Under stress, her mother underwent a cesarean section. Amid the sounds of explosions, they were released from the maternity hospital, without flowers and congratulations - quietly. And so the parents with two children, one of whom was a baby, went through all the checkpoints and made it to Odesa via Zaporizhzhia. They went to Odesa because it was closer to home. The family searched for a way to clothe themselves and their children without any means of subsistence. Thanks to the "I Will Help" Foundation and Yulia Zlata, they managed to obtain all the necessary goods, clothing, and shoes for the whole family. Thanks to their support and the people who came to the foundation, we didn’t feel lonely or abandoned. We are very grateful for all the help we received and appreciate the overall support of the Ukrainian people. And we believe in victory.

Good day, my name is Pavlik Marina from the city of Kherson. It happened that we left the city while it was under occupation. When the travel time in peaceful times from Kherson to Mykolaiv takes one and a half hours, during the occupation it took 12 hours. The journey was hard: shelling, Russian soldiers in tanks turning over things, checking phones. I have two children: a daughter who is 10 months old and a son who is 12 years old. We had to leave our home because there were no medicines or basic necessities in the city. Currently, my family lives in the city of Odesa, and volunteers help everyone. When we started renting an apartment, the volunteers from the "I Will Help" Foundation provided us with cleaning supplies from #FundacjaKooperacja, which allowed us to restore order. Over time, we learned that our house in Kherson had been bombed, and now we have nowhere to return. Therefore, we can only build our future and our children's future here in the city of Odesa.

My name is Paniuta Victoria. Before the start of the full-scale invasion, my family and I lived in the Kherson region, in the city of Oleshkі. The opportunity to leave the city only appeared this year. Before that, my family experienced both occupation and flooding after the explosion of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. Our house was flooded, it cannot be repaired, which is why there is nowhere to live. I have two children: a 6-year-old son and an adult daughter who is 20 years old. We arrived in the city of Odesa with two suitcases and a desire to rebuild our lives. Here we were met by volunteers who helped us find housing and provided essential items. Unfortunately, there is currently no opportunity to return to our homeland, but we really want to.