“The children were drinking tea in the kitchen. Suddenly, the windows and walls were blown to pieces. The epicentre of the explosion was near their room. If they had been there, they wouldn’t have survived,” Oksana recalls the day their second home was hit by shellfire.
The Zviahintsev family first lost their home in 2014, when Sloviansk was occupied. An explosion severely damaged their house, forcing them to flee. Their only priority was saving their children — their eldest son, Kyrylo, and little Hanna, who had just learned to walk. After the city was liberated, the family returned and painstakingly rebuilt their home using income from their small business.
But in 2022, history repeated itself. The full-scale Russian invasion forced them to leave Sloviansk once again. Initially, all seven family members shared a one-room apartment with friends. Later, they moved to Sumy, which at the time seemed like a safer option. Using a certificate from the "eVidnovlennia" programme, they purchased a new home. The children finally had their own rooms. But just as they were settling in, another rocket strike destroyed everything.
“All of us were affected, but our daughter suffered the most,” says Oksana. “Hanna sustained mine-blast injuries, a concussion, and two skull fractures. She spent two weeks in intensive care and underwent three months of treatment. We were left without work and with no means to support ourselves. But in that moment, all that mattered was saving our child.”
When they returned from the hospital, their apartment was uninhabitable. An entire wall was missing from Hanna’s room. The furniture and computer were covered in debris. All the doors had been blown off, the heating system destroyed, and the windows boarded up. And it was December.
That’s when the Zviahintsevs met the People in Need team and received financial assistance to repair their home.
“Everything went smoothly. We filled out the applications right away and received the money quickly. We were even able to choose the materials ourselves — now everything is both solid and beautiful. We started with Hanna’s room,” Oksana says.
This assistance was made possible thanks to the generous support of the American people. So far this year, more than 60 families affected by shelling in the Sumy region have received support. Another 30 families are awaiting payments to begin their own repairs.
Meanwhile, the Zviahintsevs are slowly returning to normal life. Kyrylo is studying to become an English teacher. Hanna is back in school and playing the guitar again. She dreams of going to summer camp — and of a quiet, peaceful life.
