Russia’s invasion has driven 8 million people from their homes in Ukraine, splitting families and causing those who flee to start over.  One of these is the stories and the struggles of refugees – Olena Tsebenko.

‘Sometimes when I sleep, I see dreams that I’m already at my home. I see it like it’s reality. It’s so sad when you wake up and you’re not at home.’– Olena Tsebenko

Olena tried to stay calm as her husband inched their car through the seemingly endless line at the Polish border, but everything inside her was screaming for him to turn back.

She was nine months pregnant with their first child and terrified at the thought of leaving her home and her country. She didn’t think she could face any changes, not that close to her due date and not without knowing where they were going.

The morning had been a blur – the race out of Lviv after the first bombs hit the city and the brief stop at Andrii’s parents’ house in Sambir. Olena saw the fear in the face of Andrii’s mother as she begged them to go to Poland: “Today rockets are falling down and we don’t know what will happen tomorrow.”

“What are you saying?” Olena replied through tears. “I am not going anywhere.”

Andrii convinced Olena that his mother was right, that they had to leave, and now she was stuck in the line at the border, praying this war would end soon.

Her only comfort came from stroking her swollen belly. “This is my hope,” she told herself. She knew the baby was a girl, the daughter she’d longed for. And she’d already picked out a name: Vira.

Ukrainian for Faith.