Rebuild Roman & Zoya's Home

Hi, my name is Megan. Almost 20 years ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Ukraine. During my visit, I met my amazing friend, Zoya Ilnitsky. We were able to visit children's homes and churches together, and she taught me a lot about the beautiful culture and values in Ukraine.

She left a huge impression that has never left me. Now with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Zoya's family has faced the danger and terror of war with bravery and humanitarian efforts, helping thousands to flee and keeping thousands fed during a time of bombings and bullets.

Zoya explains the night they lost their house:

"When we planned where to hide in case of air raid sirens, we thought about my office, as is located on a semi-basement level, has strong walls and window protection.

We heard sounds of shots and explosions from the first day, all around and quite close. But we understood that it was just a skirmish between Kiev and Bucha and didn’t panic.

The first real bombing of Irpin happened on March 5. at that time we could have been in two places: our house or the office. The kids stayed in the office the whole day, as the internet still worked there. Me and my husband were in the church, helping people.

At 5 pm kids came to us (it’s just across the street), because the curfew started.

And then at 5:10 pm, the bombing began.

The shell hit our house, also fell down 30 meters far from my office and its fragments pierced through the windows and the protection… We were saved only because we all were, where we hadn’t planned to be at all, and where we were useful to others."

The President of Ukraine proclaimed that Zoya's town is a hero because of the efforts that she and her husband helped to lead.

Zoya explains, "Roman still live in the church and helps to clean the town and give help to people. Zoia is going to be with kids, who are in Germany alone, and hope to  come back as soon as it will be possible to live in the house."