Iryna Miakshyna and her daughter Marharyta came to Kropyvnytskyi from Sloviansk in August 2022.

“It was four in the morning, and we arrived on an evacuation train; we had nowhere left to stay at home,” the woman recalls.

“We were nervous and exhausted, and even though we had come to a safer city, we wanted to cry. We couldn’t believe it was all happening to us. We held hands tightly, and that calmed us,” adds Marharyta.

Mother and daughter also remember how the platform of Kropyvnytskyi railway station smelled of morning, fatigue and the unknown. They were met by volunteers who helped them find accommodation.

In Sloviansk, the Miakshyn family lived in their own house; they had lots of flowers and a vegetable garden…

“I want to go home,” Rita said quietly as she handed over her drawing for the competition.

Marharyta is a sensitive and bright girl who loves to draw. She doesn’t talk about Sloviansk often, but she draws houses. With windows. Whole ones. And she draws Ukraine as a young woman – inspired and unbreakable, resilient and strong, and at the same time tender, blossoming and beautiful. That is what her drawing is about.

Today the Miakshyns live in a dormitory. They have one room for the two of them. During the day, Marharyta looks after the neighbours’ cat while they are at work.

Iryna works at the Sloviansk core school. Her daughter studies there online in 8th grade.

They always support each other: “You are strong. We are like two threads in one fabric.”

They dream of peace, of returning home, of a bright future in which they are both happy. Because even if their home is destroyed, they are unbroken.

Marharyta wants to become a dentist.