Iryna ID:7420 ID: 7420

Hello! My name is Irina. I always try to be positive, smiling, but it’s hard as my dad died in 2014. Today, only my mother is raising me. This is a very painful loss for me. I study in the 10th grade. I study remotely, like most Ukrainian schoolchildren, because of constant missile strikes by the Russian aggressor. My village is located in the north of Ukraine, not far from the border with Belarus. When the war started in Feb. 2022 my village was under occupation for more than a month, those were the most terrible days. I had to stay in the house without light, heat and the possibility to replenish food stocks, under constant shelling. Even now I am very scared when I hear explosions or gunshots. I am afraid to fall asleep at night because of constant air alarms. Recently, my vision has deteriorated a lot, probably because of the stress I’ve experienced. Now I live with my mother, grandmother, who is sick, and my 12-year-old brother Bohdan. Due to the difficult financial situation in the family, I do not have the opportunity to attend sports classes and additional English lessons. I really dream of having a bicycle, as mine was stolen during the occupation. But my main dream is to get an opportunity for full-fledged vision treatment, since during the war my eyesight deteriorated to a critical state. Now I really need help for full-fledged treatment and the purchase of new glasses or lenses. Unfortunately, I can’t see at all without glasses. Mother lost her job at the beginning of the war. Her workplace was bombed. It is very difficult to find a new one, mother takes care of the family and household chores, has a small household. So now my family is living on my grandmother’s minimum pension and the survivor’s pension that is paid to us, and it is also meager. Due to the difficult situation in the country, I try to volunteer, help our military, weave camouflage nets and make trench candles. Any support and help from you would make my life better. I will be very grateful.