In July 2024, ChildVoice President Conrad Mandsager and ChildVoice Ukraine program coordinator Haylie Wright sat down with Darina, a 16-year-old Kokhana Krayina House of Youth volunteer, to discuss how the war has affected her and how learning to help war-affected children is in turn giving her hope. The following is an excerpt of Conrad’s interview with Darina.
Conrad Mandsager: Tell me how it felt when the war started.
Darina: So, in the first place, I didn't know when the war started. I woke up and was all dressed. I had eaten before going to school. And at that point, I realized that the war started. So, mom told me that there is a war, you don't have to go to school. I didn't realize what was going on and I hoped it will take like a few weeks and it will be over. And the first three, four months we were really nervous. I wouldn't go out from home. I just was here in Kazanka and we haven't traveled a lot.
CM: Could you actually hear some of the fighting? Yes, of course. There was a lot of fighting. The front line was quite near in the first year of the war. It was approximately 40 kilometers from here. So, I basically had a chance to hear all the fighting, bombing that was going on.
CM: What was life like in those first few months here?
Darina: At first, it was really difficult because we had our school and at the same time there was a war going on. There is a mosque right next to the door. We studied their language.
CM: How did you feel about Russia as a country and knowing that 40 kilometers away they are there?
Darina: I was really scared that I even had a temperature. So, I just felt that. I don't know what to say. I was really worried that my parents didn't want to go anywhere. They didn't want to send me anywhere. I didn't want to leave. I was really nervous because my parents didn't want to leave Kazanka, but they wanted to send me to other places where it is safer. And I didn't want to leave Kazanka because I was born and raised here. I didn't want to leave Kazanka.
CM: So, you did not go?
Darina: Yeah, I'm happy that I stayed here.
CM: During those first few months, did school resume?
Darina: Yeah, so, the first months of the war, we didn't have to go to school, but after a month, we had online studies.
CM: And how did that go? Were you constantly worried that you would get sick?
Darina: We had to turn off the Zoom, and the lesson was stopped, so it was difficult.
CM: Do you think the quality of education was as good as if you were in the classroom with your teacher?
Darina: It all depends on the student's desire.
CM: Do all your classmates in Kazanka have the opportunity to come here and study online?
Not all of them have computers, but they try to find a way to not skip classes and to study. So, do you think you actually finished school earlier because you could do it online? Not really, because I went through all of the 11th grade of school.
CM: Do you think the quality of education was as good as if you were in the classroom with your teacher? Yes, the situation would be much better if we could meet each other offline and to see each other, communicate. And probably we could learn more, not only about studies, but about ourselves. And we could have much more happy moments.
CM: Do you feel more responsible in front of yourself and your teachers when you go to school every day?
Darina: Especially when you are online, it is not as strict, and students usually don't want to make themselves study much. So you had to be really motivated. Yes, it's much about the motivation of the students. How many brothers and sisters do you have? I have only one older sister.
CM: So during those first few months, when the uncertainty of where the war was and the front was closed, were you getting together outside the house with your friends?
Darina: So, during those first few months, when the uncertainty of where the war was and the front was closed, were you getting together outside the house with your friends? We went outside after four months.
CM: Were completely inside the house during those first four months?
Darina: No, we went to the store, to the hospital, to go somewhere, but most of the time I was outside.
CM: Was it hard to find food? Was it hard to get the sort of services that you would have expected on a normal basis?
Darina: Yes, both the food and products. Firstly, all the people were really nervous that there would be an inflation or there is a new government, so we have to save up on food, so it was difficult to find products.
CM: So, as time went on and the war didn't end, how are you thinking about that now?
Darina: The war started when I was eight, and the whole country occupation started two years ago when I was fourteen. Unfortunately, with time you get used to it. It's a terrible thing that you want to get used to, but that's how it is. Unfortunately, the reality is that you are getting accustomed to it, and we understand that it's horrible, it's horrible things going on, but you get used to it. You learn how to live within it. Yes, you learn how to live with it.
CM: If you listen to the media, the word is that Russia is not going to quit until they occupy Ukraine. How do you feel about that?
Darina: I feel really horrible when I hear about this, and I do really want to help people in the occupied territories. It's a shame that every generation of Ukrainians has to fight for their lives. Okay, so we are smiling through our tears, because it's not as funny.
. . .
CM: How are you dealing with your emotions? I can see this is not easy. So, every morning you wake up to this, every night you go to bed with this. How are you dealing with your emotions? I can see this is not easy.
Darina: I'm not controlling the emotions. For around a year I took the medicine for making yourself calm.
CM: What Oleg and Victoria are doing here [with Kokhana Krayina], does it help?
Darina: Yes. I'm so happy that I have a place where I can go to, because in this region we have problems with communication. There is no place where you can go and just communicate, spend time with your friends, play board games, because I love board games. And so, I understand that finally I have a place where I can go and relax, spend some time with my friends, enjoy this time. And it's not only for me, but also it's important for those who [were displaced] to Kazanka.
CM: Do you have something else to add about [Kokhana Krayina]?
Darina: About Oleg and Viktoria–what they do, I'm very grateful for it. And when you go through this club, it's not just that you feel that you will feel better now, you understand that you can help other people. Because they gave us an opportunity to help other people too.For example, we had this trade market, Christmas market–Christmas fair–so we sold some products and raised money for the army. Yeah, community service activities.So, Oleg and Viktoria are those people who, we can say, began volunteering in this region and found these young volunteers as well.