Svitlana Myakotnikova
Chemuzhivka , Ukraine
35 y. o.
We are a large, low-income family from Kharkiv region. I am raising three children; my daughter has a disability.

I am 35 years old. My husband abandoned the children and does not pay child support. I have three children: my daughter Gabriella, 8 years old (for her I am a single mother), and twins, my daughter Alisa and my son Artem, 6 years old. My younger daughter has a disability: she has epilepsy. My son has ADHD, and we are treating that too. All the children were psychologically traumatized when the war began, and then again when their father was taken to the war, and afterwards he abandoned us and does not help. I am alone with three children, and the kindergartens and schools here are closed. I am currently unemployed, since I look after the children myself. The social assistance we receive is about 150$ in hryvnias, and that is what we live on. I constantly borrow money, then pay it back, then borrow again. And with the children we also have to travel to the hospital in Kharkiv every month for check-ups, which is very difficult and expensive. We hope to get through this winter and that it will not be too cold. Because without electricity and heating, it is frightening when the frosts come.