My daughter and I lived in two countries, but home is best: a family’s story of returning to Lviv region
Liubov Mykolaivna is 50. She is from Novyi Rozdil in Lviv region. The decision to leave Ukraine came in the first days of the full-scale invasion – to the sound of sirens and news of shelling. At the time, she imagined safety for herself and her daughter abroad.
Yelyzaveta was only seven. It was for her peace of mind that her mother decided to leave temporarily. They lived in Poland for six months.
“At first we had housing free of charge, but later the rent rose to almost 700 dollars a month. For me it was an unaffordable amount. That was the first signal,” says Liubov.
At the same time, her daughter’s health began to deteriorate. The girl complained about her eyesight, but access to doctors was limited.
“It was very difficult to get a consultation – the queues were months long,” her mother adds.
At that point, Liubov Mykolaivna decided to return to Ukraine so as not to lose time on examinations.
“At home we were able to get a diagnosis quickly. It came as a shock – optic nerve atrophy. My daughter practically cannot see with one eye, and her vision cannot be restored. We didn’t even suspect it,” Yelyzaveta’s mother recalls.
The girl was given a disability status. After that, Liubov Mykolaivna again began looking for treatment options for her daughter abroad.
In 2024, they went to Switzerland, hoping to find broader opportunities for medical support.
“At that time, air attacks were becoming more and more intense… On top of that, Liza began losing vision in her other eye too. So we had to go,” she explains.
The family was first received in the city of Fribourg, and later they moved to Bulle, where Yelyzaveta was examined by local doctors.
The experience abroad was difficult and at the same time important for understanding her own priorities.
“I realised that on my own with a child abroad I simply couldn’t cope,” says Liubov Mykolaivna.
In the end, the family decided to return to Ukraine. This time for good.
Today Liubov and her daughter are at home in Novyi Rozdil. Yelyzaveta is in the fifth grade and studies on an individual programme.
The experience of seeking refuge abroad was difficult but very useful, Liubov Mykolaivna admits, because it helped her feel anew the value of home, where her loved ones are close, where everything is clear and where there is support.
The project “Strengthening Community Resilience for Return and Reintegration” is implemented by the Rokada Charitable Foundation as part of the project “YOUA – Shaping New Paths, Building Ukraine’s Future”, commissioned by the German Government and implemented by GIZ Ukraine.
The YOUA project provides exclusively technical assistance and does not influence people’s personal decisions about returning to Ukraine. Participation in events and use of services are possible exclusively on a voluntary basis for persons who are considering returning, have already made such a decision or are in the process of reintegration after returning to Ukraine.
