Military operations on the territory of Ukraine forced Inesa, her husband and her children to become internally displaced persons twice.
The first time it happened in 2014. Due to the beginning of military aggression, the Baranovs were forced to leave all their acquired property and return to their native Mariupol. Thus, they officially became internally displaced persons for the first time. Over time, their lives normalized as much as possible. Mykhailyk, the eldest child, went to first grade. Inesa gave birth to the second child, Anna, her daughter. The Baranovs were already building their future in Mariupol. In 2021, they even managed to buy their own home, but a year later their plans were again destroyed by the war:

“We can’t compare it with what happened earlier. When we were running away from Mariupol, I told everyone that we were in hell,” – Inesa recalls.

“We had lived in the basement for almost a month at a temperature of minus 12 degrees without water and food, it was impossible to get all this. We tried to drain the water from the boilers and batteries, but it just froze. And on March 13, at 9:20 a.m., the yard of our house was hit by an airstrike – a terrible thing happened. We buried 13 people in the yard. Then shrapnel injured my child.”

At that time, the hospital was still open and Anna was able to get stitches. When they returned, they did not recognize their own yard: empty windows, burnt cars parked next to the house – the Baranovs’ car was also burnt. Only at the beginning of May, the family reached Irpen where they addressed to “Ia – Mariupol” center. And there they were advised to ask ADRA Ukraine organization for help.

“We received assistance though we didn’t even expect to receive it,” – says Inesa.

“We want to spend the received funds on a child who is going to the first grade. We also need clothes and basic necessities because we were leaving with a small suitcase of things. Everything that was left in Mariupol has been stolen and destroyed. We are also starting to look for a place to live.”

“We are very grateful that there are people like you and such funds that help IDPs. Now it is very important for all of us. After all, people lost not only their houses, material values – people lost their relatives, loved ones, their whole lives. Your assistance is very important to us right now.”