Eleonora’s family – the girl herself, her mother, father and grandmother – evacuated from Zaporizhzhia to Bukovyna in 2023. In peacetime, her mother Yuliia worked as an English translator, and her father Anatolii as a builder. Elia was in seventh grade at the time.

“Life was calm and measured. Everyone did what they loved. At first we couldn’t believe what was happening. It seemed that all of this was somewhere far away and wouldn’t touch us. But when a missile fell just one stop from our house, we realised we had to leave,” Eleonora recalls.

Then the girl’s mother remembered a friend who had evacuated from Kyiv to Chernivtsi region. The friend invited them to come.

“We packed the essentials: documents, belongings, our little dog, and set off. Grandma hesitated at the time, but eventually agreed to come with us. The road was long, hard and uncertain,” Eleonora continues.

The family settled in the town of Vashkivtsi. That is when the question of the girl’s further education arose. At first, Elia studied remotely and finished seventh grade at her home school this way.

“We gradually began to put down roots. The adults found work – some work remotely, some found a new job here, in the community that welcomed us. Grandma also has something to do – she volunteers. Every day she bakes, cooks and weaves camouflage nets. This is how she passes the warmth of her heart, of our hearts, to those who defend Ukraine every day. For us, she is an example of strength and care, like a modern Berehynia, the guardian of the home,” says Eleonora.

New acquaintances, who had also been forced to leave their homes, advised the girl to enrol in an art school.

“I was happy – it was a chance to take my mind off what we had been through and find something new. The art school welcomed me very warmly and with understanding. I made new friends. I took part in art competitions and even won prizes. It inspired me and restored my faith in life,” the young artist admits.

Today the girl studies at the Vashkivtsi school. She finds new interests and new friends.

“We are getting used to it, but we don’t forget. Love for home and the dream of returning live in our hearts,” shares Eleonora.

Her drawing is our shared story: a girl in a flower wreath against a Ukrainian landscape and sunflowers.

“She is black and white, but strong, focused, full of inner light. Her face is a symbol of resilience, because even in dark times she does not lose her dignity. She embodies each of us who keeps love for Ukraine in our hearts. She stands on land that suffers but lives. She looks ahead unbroken. The sunflowers are more than flowers. They are a symbol of the sun, of life, of the generosity of our land, which we were forced to leave but never betrayed. They are a memory of peaceful summers, of fields we once saw from our windows. They are hope that even in a scorched field a seed will sprout again if given a little care and peace. This image is our sense of the present and faith in the future. Overall, the drawing is about resilience, about dreams, about revival,” the artist interprets her creative emotions.

Eleonora also dreams of a happy country where every child can plan their day without fear, where there are no sirens, only birdsong.

“Where our homes are not ruins but places of strength. Where Ukraine is free, independent and strong. And the girl in my drawing is not only about what was, but about what will be. She is faith. She is us,” Eleonora concluded.