Svitlana is like any other mother. She would do anything for her children.
"I would never forgive myself if something happens to them," she said, wiping her eyes as the tears brim. "That's the only thing I want to save, the life of my children."
She's like any other mother, but she's not. Svitlana is Ukrainian and on this cold, winter's night, she finds herself at a train station in Poland with her two daughters, 13 and 17. They just arrived, having fled from their home, a town about an hour outside of Kyiv. They have no friends or family in Poland and have relied on strangers to direct them where to go next.
Svitlana and her daughters are three of the more than 2.3 million Ukrainians who have fled their country since fighting began. They carry little with them as they didn't have much time to prepare. The shooting had already begun as they packed. Bullets are falling on non-military targets: hospitals, schools, military universities.
Your love is urgently needed. People are leaving everything behind, racing the clock to protect their families and get to safety. They desperately need immediate aid including food, water, shelter, clothing and medical care. Like Svitlana, they rely on you — strangers in name but brothers and sisters in God — for assistance.
While Svitlana is unsure of what's to come, she is certain of one thing. "The most important thing is the life of my children," she said. "In these situations, you realize how precious life is."