On a morning seemingly like any other, a Ukrainian teenager, Sophia, was in her physics class when suddenly, explosions started happening in the distance. Soon the explosions started getting closer and closer when her teacher instructed the class to head to the shelter. Sitting next to a wall, ears covered, mouth opened in an attempt to avoid being shocked by the blast wave. Sobbing because as stated before, it was just a typical morning and in minutes, her world would never be the same.
As the days continued, so did the bombings. Sofia specifically remembered February 21st being one of the loudest bombings. “Just a big bang. The birds flew, and then there was silence. It felt like the end of the world” she recalled. She said that later that day, during a session with the psychologist at the village club, there was another bombing, destroying a devastating number of things, and entire window fell out the window (with all the panes still attached) She had to hide in the basement of an apartment, she remembered feeling helpless. She remembered when she was younger, how things seemed hard and how she use to feel helpless. Not this time though, with everything happening, she knew she could do something to help, so she did.
“I got stronger” Sofia recalled. She contacted volunteers, and they agreed to take her and eight other ids to the zoo.
For the first time since the war, in those kids’ eyes, there was happiness. In the midst of madness, simple things like a trip to the zoo can help so much.
Sofia helped with humanitarian aid and assisting as best she could before she got devastating news, her dad was gone. Then a month later, he was thankfully found.
Though a lot is going on in Sofia’s world, she wants a good education.
As you can see, this war has torn people’s worlds apart, but for people like Sofia, they can deal with it while also helping others
Links- https://www.savethechildren.org/us/charity-stories/internally-displaced-ukraine-child-survivor
