Tetiana, Poltava region, 20.03.2022

'Greetings!

I want to thank you, all the volunteers and patrons, as well as the Centropa staff, for their support.

I hesitated for a while, not knowing what to write. I am 25 years old. I am a history teacher by education and by calling. I have been working ever since my 4th year of college. Three years ago, I joined doctoral studies at my alma mater – …. I continue writing my dissertation on the Nazi occupation policy and the Holocaust in the Poltava region. Slightly more than a year ago, I started to combine teaching with working in the city council – I chair the Municipal Organization '... Institute' of the …city council.

From the first days of the war, the whole team of the '... Institute' has been helping internally displaced people – we have set up a helpline, through which we provide counseling and accommodation free of charge in our public education facilities – schools and kindergartens. Now, refugees reside even in Lyceum… gym, and classrooms.

Whenever possible, they have equipped beds provided - beds, mattresses, and blankets. We try to feed people hot food every day, which we prepare with the help of volunteers who deliver food. Of course, some of the food is also purchased with the funds of the city budget and other organizations.

Online teaching has been restored in schools. Along with the Poltavians, there are volunteers from Kharkiv, Sumy, and Kyiv – usually, anyone who has expressed a desire to continue their education. The clock stops every time the siren cries, and the children descend into the shelter.

My life has turned into a never-ending working day. The hotline is open 24/7. This means that we are constantly communicating with the forced refugees and sending them to the settlements in our facilities. It is about 2,000 people a day. Many stay in … for a night or two and then drive on, westward, or abroad. What scares me the most is that they leave helpless seniors and disabled people behind. And they still live in our schools and are cared for by the same teachers and local pupils.'