A person who has lost everything gradually loses the ability to believe that life can be normal again.
However, this person can be helped and the faith can be restored.
25-year-old Tatyana Kuplyuk with her husband and two little daughters used to live in a rented house where they gradually made repairs, bought the needed furniture and household appliances and did their best to create a cozy place.
On September 30, all the belongings they had acquired in the last seven years burned to the ground. The family hastily escaped from the burning house, having managed to grab only documents and some clothes.
The only one in the family who does not fully understand what is happening is 4-year-old Sophia. She doesn’t know how to cope with the loss of her favorite toys, clothes, and books. The baby does not know why, instead of a spacious bedroom, the four of them now live in a tiny and “far from being cozy” hostel room. Sonya does not know why her young and fragile mother is constantly crying.
“In a blink of an eye, we lost everything that had been acquired by back-breaking labor in the last seven years of our life –- Tatiana shares with us with tears in her eyes. -My husband Anatoly worked as an asphalt paver in Voronovo, and I was engaged in farming … Over the summer, just from selling ducklings, we earned 10,000 hryvnia. My biggest loss are the chicken that burnt in the fire. They had been brought to me from Moscow. They were amazing! They regularly provided us with fresh eggs for breakfast and for sale.
In addition to our family business, I am studying at the technical school to become a pastry chef. I love to cook and we did a lot of repairs to make our kitchen perfect. We bought an expensive freezer to cook semi-finished products. We lived in a rented house, which until now had not needed by anyone! But when the rented house with all our things in it burned down, the landlady received all of the assistance from the government and we lost everything and received nothing! She did not reimburse us a penny! Now we live in a wretched small hostlel; the four of us huddle in a room of 12 square meters. But life goes on, thanks to such caring people like you!
We are very grateful to you for the support with food, winter shoes and just a kind word! The bureaucratic machine of our government does not allow justice to prevail in our lives, but thanks to people like you, we do not lose hope! ”
While Tanya tells us the story of the fire, 6-year-old Nadia is playing with their cat, whom she saved from the burning house with her own hands. Looking at this family of 4 disadvantaged people who instantly lost everything, I involuntarily begin to understand the meaning of the phrase, “Hope is the last thing to die”…
Indeed, the Kaplyuk family is learning to live in a “new normal” reality. When they get tother in the evenings in their small kitchen, they dream of a cloudless future – just like they used to dream before the fire. The only difference is that they used to dream about travelling, and now their dreams are just about having a roof over their heads. With that, they simply rejoice that they have managed to survive in this fire.
CBN-Emmanuel’s Humanitarian and Disaster Relief department comprehensively helps the Kaplyuk family in coping with the consequences of the fire. The day before, they received food aid, today we handed them winter shoes for Anatoly and the youngest daughter Sofia. A week later, the family will receive a hygiene kit and an electric heater, which is very much needed in the worn-down hostel where the family has been placed by the government.
You can support the project to help fire victims right now by donating any amount or by making a monthly donation through a special link below http://helpua.org/ru/home-1/
Thank you!
By Anna Chaban, CBN-Emmanuel journalist
