Sisters Maryna and Valia have been displaced twice. First, the twins had to leave Luhansk, and then Lysychansk during the full-scale invasion.  The evacuation route, temporary accommodation and constant travel became a new reality for them. For several months, they even had to live in a school while the girls’ mother looked for a new home.

“I realised that our home was gone and we had to move on,” Valia recalls. And Maryna feels that the war made them stronger – and forced them to grow up earlier than they wanted.

At the time of the interview, the sisters were 14 years old. Maryna already has her own income – she works in the field of Internet marketing (SMM) and is studying IT. Valia has completed a manicure course. The twins try to be a support for their mother: they consciously choose their professions, earn their own money and plan their future so that the family will never be left without support again. 

Maryna and Valya took part in the “Rinat Akhmetov for Children. Peaceful Rest for Children of Ukraine” programme aimed at the development and psychological recovery of children who survived the war.