War refugee: Building a new life

Hello everyone,?

I'm Lada, and I am a Ukrainian. A happy, fun-loving person who has always thought of traveling worldwide. Well, I did travel. I now live in Switzerland. But unfortunately, not the way I would imagine, even in my worst nightmares.

Life was good and peaceful in Ukraine. I worked as a freelancer, had my childhood friends, and knew every nook and corner of my district. It was simple and easy. It was home. I was super excited about my birthday on the 26th of February. The plans were made, and the guest lists were checked. My whole family was going to be there. But life sprang its surprise. On the 24th of February, my mom woke me up saying, 'war has started.' The most dreaded words. I could see her worry, even half-awake.?

We quickly gathered our most essential things and spent the next 11 days in bomb shelters. During the day, we cooked for the soldiers. At night, we could barely sleep due to continuous bombing. But it was getting too much. My nervous system was giving up. I could not hold my tears anymore. This was when we decided to go to the west of Ukraine, where we knew it was a little bit better situation.?

After spending some time there and knowing that things may take a while before returning to normal, my mom, sister, and I decided to come to Switzerland. A long road to travel. But we met some lovely people who helped us along the way. Once here, despite our heavy hearts and heads full of uncertainty, it felt better.

Honestly, during the first month here, we were lost. New environment, no financial help, no one to talk to, just our backpacks and our beliefs that we would be fine. Soon we found a place Free Shop Ukraine/ in Kanton Zug, where volunteers were helping Ukrainians with food, clothes, and everything needed for life. This place was also helping war refugees with communication, which was crucial for us. After some time, we found a host family. Now we are staying there. The family helped my sister and me integrate and find a job and begin our new lives.

This is how #HadronFinsys, happened. I found a job here as UX/UI designer. I am now helping the Hadron team with a unique CSR campaign that assists Ukrainians all across Europe in finding work and financial stability. I know from my experience that every help counts. I am happy that through the Hadron campaign, I can make small changes in the lives of people like me.