Personal statement
The year 2022 changed my family’s life drastically, as it did for many other Ukrainian families. We were an ordinary, happy family living in the capital of a beautiful and thriving country. We had worked hard to achieve the life we had. I was an associate professor at a university, my husband was an entrepreneur, and our daughter attended a prestigious lyceum. Our lives were full of hope and prospects.
Everything was abruptly interrupted on February 24 at 3:40 am when we woke up to the sound of explosions. Our neighborhood in Kyiv is close to Boryspil Airport, the first target for terrorists. We had no idea what modern warfare looked like and could only imagine horrifying bombings. I was deeply worried about my daughter, who was under stress. My husband and I made the difficult decision that my daughter and I would leave the city for a safer place with our relatives, while he would stay behind.
A few hours later, with air raid sirens blaring, my daughter and I left Kyiv, which was gridlocked with traffic. People were fleeing their homes in panic. Silent and without stopping, we drove for 16 hours (a journey that usually took five) until we reached our destination. The bitter scene of parting with my husband still lingers in our minds. At the time, we had no idea that for years to come, we would remain a separated family with shattered hopes. My husband stayed in Ukraine, while my daughter and I became displaced persons—first within our own country and later in the United Kingdom.
In the UK, we faced a host of new challenges: adapting to the traditions and rules of a new country and the family we stayed with, assimilation of my daughter in the new school, overcoming my language barrier, struggling to find a job, and dealing with the longing for home and loved ones (my husband, mother, sister, and friends) who remained under attack in Ukraine.
The hardest thing, and it remains so to this day, is receiving news from Ukraine about the horrific consequences of the war. Social media is filled with stories of entire families, civilians, and soldiers losing their lives. Renowned musicians, artists, scientists, philanthropists, students from the university where I worked, some of my relatives have been killed. Young men and women suffer severe injuries, including loss of limbs. This is the grim reality of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Ukrainians everywhere, both at home and abroad, live in constant stress, as the prolonged war takes a toll on the nation’s mental health.
Volunteer organizations constantly appeal for financial help, and Ukrainians from all over the world contribute what we can. But for me, clicking a button to send a donation felt insufficient—it didn’t ease my conscience. I wanted to do something tangible, something I could do with my hands or mind, to feel connected to the events unfolding in my homeland.
It was around this time that I met Costas Johnson, who had an idea to establish a charity to support Ukrainians. Simultaneously, I tried to organize collections of medications and new or used clothing for the wounded in hospitals. I recall one such effort supported by St. Mary’s Church in Chesham. Colette and Jon Salkeld brought us a massive load of items, which we unloaded at Costas’s house. Heather, Costas’s wife, and I spent the entire day sorting through the items before sending them to Ukraine’s Main Military Clinical Hospital.
This marked the beginning of closer collaboration with the charity "Volunteer Hundred Dobrovolia" located in Ukraine and others. Volunteers reported a large number of injured people and an acute shortage of various medicines, equipment, and simple hygiene products. The number of people needing ongoing treatment, care, and rehabilitation continues to grow. A peaceful country unprepared for warfare in 21st-century simply could not meet these needs.
We decided to initially focus the charity, Stefania, on providing Ukrainian hospitals—civilian, military, and children’s—with essential supplies. Later, we will expand its mission to include other areas of aid.
This work has truly inspired me; I have found a deeper sense of purpose for my presence in the United Kingdom, as it will now allow me to make a more significant contribution to my country. Together, we can achieve a great collective mission that we will be proud of in the future. By providing Ukrainian hospitals with high-quality equipment like that used in the UK’s NHS, we will create opportunities to save lives and improve the health of Ukrainian soldiers, children, the elderly, and others in need.
I call on my fellow Ukrainians and all people of goodwill in the UK, the EU, USA, etc. to join us in raising funds to purchase these desperately needed medical supplies for Ukrainian hospitals. For my part, I will do everything in my power to ensure the Stefania project succeeds and benefits the Ukrainin people.
Lіubov Pankratova
