DHM Trustees, Helen and Melanie and Helen’s daughter, Hannah visited Natalia and Leonid and their family with DHM partner, Margarita who leads the Equilibrium Project in Uzhhorod.

Before the war, this family lived in a lovely fourth floor flat in Kharkiv Region. Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, is just 18 miles from the Russian border. In 2022, soon after the start of the full-scale invasion, Russian forces reached the suburbs of the city before being driven back. As there were explosions all around them, the family moved into the cellar of their building. They were evacuated 8 days later, March 4th. At that time, their flat was still standing but it was soon destroyed by the bombing, so they lost everything. They have nine children, two were adults and already living away from the family home. Their 18-year-old son was very distressed by the bombing and affected psychologically. Thankfully, after six months in a ‘safe’ city he began to recover from the trauma and now he has a job – he is a chef – which he loves.

They filled their car – two adults, six children (including two with special needs), two dogs and two cats. They drove 1,500 miles to Uzhhorod – it took 4 days as there were so many cars on the road. They wanted to stay in Ukraine and took the road to Uzhhorod which is a safe city. First, they stayed in a classroom sleeping on mattresses on the floor. They applied to social services for help and lived in a student hostel from March to August but then students returned to university. They managed to find rented accommodation in a village but after eighteen months they had to leave. It was very difficult to get accommodation for such a large family, but they eventually found their current house (although it was three times more expensive to rent than the village house.) As they began to move their possessions, their car broke down. Thankfully, Margarita (Equilibrium project leader) was able to help and arrived at the roadside with the project minibus!

Leonid has a small pension and they also get some financial support for their two children with special needs, but it is extremely hard to make ends meet. They can just afford to pay the rent and bills and feed the family but there is no money for any extras for the children and they are worried about this coming winter. They often need to choose between milk or meat. They need a small part to repair their car but are unable to afford the labour costs, so the car sits in the driveway.

It has been a long war for this family. Leonid worked as a firefighter during the first invasion by the Russians in 2014 and Natalia had no idea whether he would come home alive. He witnessed horrific scenes. Natalia could identify the type of fire because of the smell at the end of his shift. He risked his life serving his community.

The children are happily settled now in the local schools and a nursery. One daughter is a ‘ high-flyer’ and is doing well at university and she is able to work during the holidays. Natalie worries about two older children who have remained in Kharkiv Oblast because they are essential workers. One family member is a border guard – they are not allowed to leave, and the work is extremely dangerous.

Natalia said ‘Margarita and the Equilibrium have made an enormous difference. Margarita is so wonderful, super, fantastic, amazing ….’ Natalia is amazing too – she has studied child psychology so that she can understand and support her children with microcephaly and ensure that they receive the best therapies and have the best opportunity to live happy and fulfilled lives.

A huge thank you to Natalia, Leonid and their children for sharing their story with us. We were privileged to be invited into their home and to deliver a DHM food parcel in person and eat some delicious home-made cakes!

If you would like to support Margarita and the Equilibrium Project and our other DHM partners who are working round the clock to provide humanitarian relief to front line and internally displaced communities, please donate either through Stewardship or through a standing order or one-off payment to the DHM account:
Sort Code: 30-90-91 / Account Number: 68149860
Account Name: Dnipro Hope Mission
Bank Name: Lloyds Bank