“Our story begins in the beautiful town of Vovchansk in Kharkiv region. We lived there all our lives and had big plans for the future. I worked, and my little son went to kindergarten. But war came to our country… The town was occupied in the very first hours of the invasion,” says Dmytryk’s mother, Tamara.

The family held on for as long as they could. But the situation got worse every day, so they decided to leave.

“At that time there were three of us – my mother, me and my son. Now we are in the very hospitable town of Zmiiv. The locals are very welcoming to us, and there are incredible people around us. We live in a collective accommodation centre and have our own room – warm and cosy,” Tamara continues.

His mother says that now it is just the two of them – Dmytryk’s grandmother has passed away. She says her heart could not bear the separation from home and the knowledge that their cosy home no longer exists and there is nowhere to return to.

“Now Dmytryk is getting ready for first grade, and in our free time we go for walks, draw, model with clay and play board games. Our family’s main dream is peace and calm in Ukraine, and we would also really, really love to have a home of our own,” shares Tamara.

“That is why the drawing shows the house of our dreams: bright, warm, cosy and welcoming. A family nest next to a small vegetable garden, with an apple tree and flowers nearby,” adds Dmytryk.

The boy also drew wheat fields under the blue Ukrainian sky.

“We wish that the dreams of every Ukrainian child come true, and our drawing is the embodiment of our dream. This is the Ukraine we love!” the Pisotskyi family says.