"My daughter was crying and hiding in the bathroom"

I am a single mother, raising an eight-year old daughter. Before the war, I worked in a hardware store, earning a salary that was enough for an average standard of living. I took my daughter to kindergarten.

In the summer, we used to go to the pond to relax and swim. We planted and grew vegetables and fruits in the garden. In autumn, we gathered mushrooms and berries in the forest. We lived a normal, regular life.

When they started saying on TV that people were being shot and killed around, I didn't believe it, especially because it was happening in our country and the surrounding regions.

I really hoped that the war would not reach us. But the worst thing is that the war came to us and stayed with us for a long time. We felt the full horror of what was happening.

We can hear the explosions and gunfire every day. Once, a military plane flew over our town, on the third floor level. My daughter was crying and hiding in the bathroom. I was also in a panic and did not know where to put myself, how to protect ourselves.

The kindergarten was closed for an indefinite period. The store I worked at didn't open every day. Then it was closed at all.

My daughter, me and my parents hid in the basement, sleeping there by candlelight. When it became quite unbearable, they went to relatives in another area for a few weeks. Then they returned.

In 2015, my parents could not stand this situation, they abandoned their house and apartment  out of fear  and went to live in another area. I really miss my parents, who lived in the house next to us. I miss their support. We don't see each other much now, except for school holidays. I don't want to leave my home. Therefore, we live in this environment and hope that this horror will end soon.

We were practically left without means of support. We appreciate  deeply what Rinat Akhmetov does for us in difficult times.