This is a central street in Poltava. This is some beautiful buildings. I take this photo because this is last time when I walk in Poltava, and then I leave my country and come to the USA. So this is my memory of what I see when I leave Ukraine. My native land was a cozy place with beautiful nature landscapes and fertile land.

I will never forget February 24, 2022. My daughter and I woke up, had breakfast and were going to go to school. Suddenly I heard my neighbor screaming. I ran out of the apartment and saw her in the corridor. She cried and shouted only one word: 'War.'

You can imagine this for me was very hard because when alarms start, yes, I can go, but she my daughter, doesn't understand what's happening. We cannot go to the basement because she's very nervous because this is a very small space. So I sat with her, and if you need to die, you die with her, because I could not just close the door and leave her alone.

At the beginning of 2023, I had the opportunity to leave the country. I told myself that I had to go to save my child's life and mine, because in my arms I also have my daughter, who has a form of disability (epilepsy). So I took all my stuff and left Ukraine.

Now me and my daughter are safe. There are no air alarms outside the window, my daughter goes to an American school, she has a teacher with a very kind heart. Society also respects my daughter and me.