On 21 March, as bombs rained down on Mariupol, Nadiia Dobrodeeva, 70, from Mariupol, was sitting in a bomb shelter. She counted 72 bombs drop in just three hours. Her house was completely burned down, so she had no choice but to sleep on the floor in the frost. For 36 days, Nadiia lived on food scraps and rainwater.

"I didn't wash or change clothes for many days, my clothes were all burnt, because when the rocket hit the house, I was in it,” she said. Miraculously, Nadia survived though she sustained ear and neck injuries, and her hair, face and hands were burnt.

Over 7 months after the war began, and in a desperate attempt to escape the fighting, thousands of people have fled their homes in similarly traumatic circumstances. Even after moving to relatively safe areas of Ukraine, many people continue to lack food, water, and basic necessities. They are also living without proper access to much needed psychological and social support, medical services, and medicines.

When Nadiia was eventually able to evacuate, on 31st March, she decided to go to Mukachevo in western Ukraine, a region she knows well. Her daughter and her young family, who lived with her in Mariupol, took refuge in the Czech Republic. After the war, they plan to move back with Nadiia in Mukachevo, and start building a new life there.

A helping hand to the medical facilities in host communities

Upon her arrival to Mukachevo, Nadiia immediately saw a doctor and was referred to specialists where she received free medical care for the injuries she had sustained.  "I even consulted a therapist upon the doctor's recommendation,” she says. Through my computer files, they could immediately access my health care data in the system. Even though I came here without a single medical document."