Sometimes leaving is not simply about changing where you live. Sometimes it is a decision that determines the safety of a mother and her children.

The Children’s Service of the Shyriaieve Settlement Council contacted the Christian Mission “New Life” with an urgent request to accommodate a woman and her children who had found themselves in difficult circumstances due to domestic violence.

Viktoriia is 36 years old. She is a mother of ten children and an internally displaced person from the Mykolaiv region. Before the full-scale war, the family lived in a village near Ochakiv. Four of her older children are currently staying with Viktoriia’s mother and grandmother.

Recently, the situation within the family became especially dangerous. Viktoriia experienced domestic violence, and later the aggression of her stepfather was also directed toward her son.

When a child was put at risk, the police and social services had to intervene.

Viktoriia was brought by the police to the Mother and Child House of the Christian Mission “New Life” together with six of her children. The youngest is only five months old, while the oldest is ten years old.

After everything they had experienced, the family first needed something very simple, yet absolutely essential — a place where they no longer had to be afraid.

At the Mother and Child House, Viktoriia and her children were provided with safe temporary accommodation, food, essential items, and support.

Here they can recover from what they have been through, stay together, and gradually return to a more stable life.

At present, Viktoriia and her children remain at the Mother and Child House while the necessary investigative and legal procedures are being carried out.

It is important that what happened to this family does not go unanswered and that all circumstances are properly investigated by the relevant authorities.

In the future, Viktoriia plans to return with her children to her home village.

Domestic violence should never become a reality that a person is forced to accept — especially when children are involved.

This is why the Mother and Child House exists as a place where women facing difficult life circumstances can come with their children and receive what they need most: shelter, safety, support, and time to understand how to move forward.

We pray for Viktoriia and her children. May God give them strength to walk through this difficult period, protect every child, and grant the family peace, safety, and hope for a new life.

We thank everyone who supports the Christian Mission “New Life”.

Because of this support, in a critical moment a mother with children can hear not, “We have nowhere to accommodate you,” but entirely different words:

“You can stay here. You are safe here.”