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A CHILD'S SMILE IS THE BEST GRATITUDE FOR SAVING THEM

Updated: Apr 2, 2023



Not every family can protect their children in the frontline zone on their own. The PAL-UA charitable organization evacuates the disabled and severely ill, but children are the most valuable. The Kherson-Odesa evacuation flight is another family saved.


The driver of the evacuation vehicle moving from Kherson was confidently driving the car, looking at the road. No display of concern. A confident look, a light, barely noticeable smile said that the man was ready for any unexpected situation. In fact, the internal tension was so great that it could have crushed even iron. The short distance to the evacuation point would be overcome in half an hour, if they did not come under fire. Half an hour for loading, and then a long and dangerous road to Odesa.


The driver pulled off the highway and directed the car towards a house where a woman with two minor children were waiting for help. Natalia Vasylivna and her daughters Sofia and Katrusia needed to be evacuated. In her condition, the woman was helpless, and the children, although they took care of their mother and helped her as best they could, remained just children. The girls, aged 12 and 14, needed parental care themselves, but the war decided otherwise.


Natalia's relatives, residents of Odesa Oblast, are ready to take the woman and her children to their homes, but they are unable to organize evacuation transportation - the route is more than 200 km away. The village of Nerubaiske in Odesa region is much safer than Zelenivka in frontline Kherson.


The car moved down the street, leaving behind the St. John the Theologian Church, and it was only a couple of kilometers to the house where the children were waiting for help. Several explosions sounded somewhere in the distance, and the driver stepped on the gas and switched speeds. The empty streets and courtyards of the village depressed him.


Arriving at the house where the girls were with their sick mother, the rescuers quickly entered the yard and headed for the door. Two girls stood confused on the doorstep. The children tried to smile with blinking eyes and looked at the adults with distrust, they did not understand what to do. Outside the windows, explosions began to sound again, and they had to act very quickly, they still had a long way to go.


After placing the sick woman and her daughters in the car, the rescuers jumped into the Mercedes cab. The driver started the starter, pressed the pedals one by one, shifted the gearbox, and the vehicle rapidly picked up speed. We had to hurry and leave the shelling zone as soon as possible, as we never knew where a rocket or shell would hit. Even the children realized that the car body would not protect them from shell fragments or bullets of the cassette.


The driver of the evacuation crew confidently drove his iron horse, which has been helping to save those who, even in these terrible times, must have hope. The hope that people who are not indifferent to someone else's misfortune will come to the rescue. Unfortunately, it happened so that many women and children, sick and helpless, were left without help, but everyone should have hope.


Natalia Vasylivna Kucherenko (mother); Sofia Kurchenko (born on 28.04.2009); Kateryna Kurchenko (born on 19.08.2011) - safely evacuated by PAL-UA to their relatives in the village of Nerubaiske, Odesa region.


Today, the PAL-UA team needs to purchase a new vehicle for evacuations. Your donation to purchase a car will not only bring smiles to children's faces, but also save many lives.


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