March 14, 2025
News
During the full-scale invasion, resilience became a symbol of Ukrainians. In particular, women who dare to give birth during the war in Ukraine. One of them is Lilya. Her eldest son is the same age as the Russian aggression against Ukrainians, and her second pregnancy passed in occupation. The couple fled their home to save the children and now live in an old village house near the front. Despite her trials, Lilya is currently pregnant. With the support of Caritas Czech Republic, the family prepared a new home for the baby's arrival.
The liberated home did not become safe
In the village of Vysoke in the Kherson region, where Lilya, her husband Ruslan, and their two young children moved to, there are almost no surviving buildings due to constant shelling. The war zone is just a few dozen kilometres away.
The family moved here after severe trials. Their frontline village was occupied and for 9 months Lilya, Ruslan and their young son Andrii could not flee. At that time, she was carrying her daughter under her heart. And even after the village was liberated, it was extremely dangerous to stay there with the children. “The Russians were constantly shelling us, and when they started dropping guided bombs, we left immediately,” Lilya recalls.
In Vysoke, the community provided the internally displaced family with an old village house that needed costly repairs. “When we settled here, a shell hit the neighbouring house, and the windows in our home were smashed. My husband first covered them with foil and then glassed them, but this is a temporary solution,” says Lilya.
The aid that gave light and warmth
Lilya is a nurse at a children's hospital, but is currently on maternity leave. Her husband Ruslan works at the local fire station. The family is about to have a third child. The couple rebuilt the stove to heat the house and made simple repairs on their own, but they lack the funds to create decent living conditions for their children. Our team met Lilya when we came to insulate the homes of the most vulnerable residents for the winter. With the support of the Ukraine Humanitarian Foundation (UHF), we installed new windows and doors in her house and insulated the roof.
“Thanks to this, our house has become warmer and brighter. Finally, we can ventilate the room. Thank you very much for your help!” says Lilya with gratitude.
Hugging one-and-a-half-year-old Alina and three-year-old Andrey, Lilya believes in a peaceful future for them and for their little brother, who will soon be born. She is convinced that Ukrainians should be united and support those who remain near the frontline.
“As long as people are living here, it is worth helping and supporting them,” says Lilya.
Caritas Czech Republic in Ukraine
Caritas Czech Republic has been helping people in Ukraine since the beginning of the war. In addition to providing much-needed humanitarian aid, we provide shelter to internally displaced people in modular houses in western Ukraine. We are also improving living conditions in dormitories.
In western Ukraine, we support Ukrainians who have decided to stand on their own feet after evacuating from the war zone. Through mini-grants, we assist the restoration of livelihoods for people in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and the Transcarpathian region.
In eastern Ukraine, we improve the accessibility and quality of rehabilitation and reproductive medicine by modernising hospitals and educating staff. In the South, we restorе water supply, insulate homes, and provide firewood for heating in frontline villages.
To help people in the frontline areas stay warm during the winter, Caritas Czech Republic installed energy-efficient windows and doors and insulated roofs in 200 homes of the most vulnerable residents with the support of the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF). In addition, in cooperation with the New Dawn Charitable Foundation we provided more than 1,600 people with firewood for heating and another 1,000 with warm clothes.
