Behind the Headlines – Valentina and Mikola
Behind the Headlines – Valentina and Mikola
We met this wonderful couple on October 11, 2022, their 58th wedding anniversary. Valentina and Mikola. With them you feel welcome as with your own grandparents.
They come from the Kramatorsk region in the Donbas. Both are children of war. Valentina was born in 1940, Mikola in 1942. Their childhood was not a bright one, marked by starvation and deprivation.
After finishing school, they met on a dairy farm. Mikola worked as a mechanic, Valentina was a supervisor. They were both employed there all their life. They worked hard to raise their daughter and to allow themselves a dignified retirement.
The war hit them already in 2014. Due to continuous shelling, they had to leave their home in 2022.
They were evacuated by volunteers. Only 20 minutes were left for them to pack their entire lives into a single bag and leave.
And so, what a cruel stroke of fate, both their childhood and their twilight years were destroyed by war.
Being displaced from their homes at their age is a severe ordeal. They have no possibility to start a new life. They cannot even afford a good, warm apartment. A few months ago, Valentina had a stroke. Mikola cannot leave the house because of leg vein thrombosis.
Even if the war ends soon: Valentina and Mikola have nowhere to go. Their home is destroyed.
