Staying in Ukraine to help others

At the beginning of the war, Serhii and his family were in Dobropillia, Donetsk region, where they moved in 2014. He remembers that he felt anxious only for the safety of his children. He was not afraid because it was the second time he had encountered the concept of war.

“It wasn’t the first time I experienced these feelings, so the “act” mode immediately turned on. I filled up the car, bought food, arranged the basement and collected the packed bag,” says Serhii. A few days later, he began to actively help Internally Displaced People who came to their town from Volnovakha.

The Kalinin family did not plan to go abroad and did not panic. But no one knew that this time everything would be different. When heavy shelling began, Serhii realized that it was necessary to save his children. They did not leave the basements and were on the verge of life and death every day for more than a month. Afterwards, the Kalinin family became internally displaced people for the second time.

In April, when hostilities broke out in their place and a general evacuation was announced, they moved to Poltava to stay with their relatives. They lived with them for a month and then found a house for rent, which they currently rent with another family.

Although Serhii can go abroad because he is a father of three children, he decided to stay and help the affected population as much as he can.

He found out about ADRA by accident. Back in 2015, when he was engaged in humanitarian aid and helped internally displaced persons in the Donetsk region, he met many ADRA representatives. Together they transported drinking water and hygiene kits to areas without infrastructure.

This year, the ADRA Ukraine team was looking for a representative in Poltava — and Serhii became a Coordinator of food assistance in the Poltava region. Now Serhii has a job and can do charity work, which he loves very much.