“I think back and think – G-d sent me you!” – Iryna fled Kharkiv in March 2022, when the shelling began. At first, she hid in basements, sleeping in her clothes, sometimes on mattresses, sometimes just on the floor. But having serious health problems (including musculoskeletal problems), at some point, she realized that she could no longer ‘run’ like that, and the situation in the city was becoming extremely difficult. On 8 March, Iryna was already on the train to Uzhgorod, intending to reach Slovakia. “All the time I was traveling and later, already at the border, I tried to convince myself that it was just a nightmare. Those queues, old people with grandchildren, people with animals in their arms… I will never forget it!”

In Slovakia, she was met by volunteers who helped her get to Bratislava. But the story did not end there: Iryna needed ART and had very little with her. “One of the volunteers gave me the contacts of your Service, so I wrote on Facebook. I was quickly given the contact of a clinic that accepts Ukrainian refugees, and I went to them. At first, I faced a language barrier – there were no interpreters and the administration only spoke Slovak. I just gave up, I was desperate. But I was glad to get your help – I was given contacts of a local NGO, which helps our people. Iryna was assigned a volunteer who spoke the language, and together they went to the clinic. Almost immediately a doctor saw her, did some tests, and prescribed therapy: first for a month, then for three months. And so, spring passed, followed by summer. “Whatever news came from Kharkiv, I knew I wanted to go home. And at the end of July, I was already on my way to Ukraine. And though it is still not easy, the awareness that I am in my home country helps immensely. People try to support each other. I am registered again; I got a job. Let’s live!”