Hi fellow Europeans, my name is Marianna Omelchenko-O'Neill. I am privileged to write to you as a Ukrainian living in a democratic and safe Ireland while my mother and my people courageously protect Ukraine from Russian forces.

As a parent, my heart hurts thinking of what Ukrainian parents' are going through. All parents think of children's safety first, and so did my close friend Oksana when she and two of her children woke up confused and frightened to the sound of loud explosions on the 24th of February.

This is their story:

Oksana and two of her youngest girls, Gloria (18) and Stefaniia (9), were given the opportunity to flee Kyiv when their Dad was asked to escort CNN reporter from the centre of Kyiv to the West of Ukraine – this would give Oksana and the children the chance to travel with them in relative safety. Having dashed from the outskirts of Kyiv to the centre, she then learned that the trip had been cancelled and that all roads back to her house were now blocked.

The loud sirens started to go off, warning everybody to get to safety. Oksana was in a quandary and had to make a snap decision while the sirens wailed - she decided to swap cars and try to make it to the Polish border. Her older daughter acted as navigator through village roads, fields and forests. When they got close to the border, traffic was at a standstill - they crawled in the queue for almost two days, with Gloria inching the car forward while her sleep-deprived mother got some micro naps.

All this time, the youngest daughter Stefaniia was silent and terrified in the back of the car. Whenever her mother checked on her, she would only say, "Are we running to shelter?" During this horrendous trip, Stefaniia sent a message to the oldest sister waiting in Poland that said, "I can't wait to see you, but I don't know whether I ever will if they start shelling at us again".

My friend Oksana's story, is one many Ukrainian parents have gone or are currently going through. Oksana's snap decision helped her reach the EU border after a horrendous 64 hours spent driving, with just 2 hours of sleep. These are journeys and risks that were unimaginable just two weeks ago.

Oksana feels incredibly lucky, having safely arrived in Ireland. Including Oksana’s family, there are overall ten more family groups of mainly mothers and children that arrived and some arriving soon. The funds raised will support these family groups to cover their most immediate basic needs. It will a mean a lot to severely traumatized families, travelling with only small bags, having left all their possessions behind.

Thank you!

Warm Regards,

Marianna Omelchenko-O'Neill

Glory to Ukraine!