The Moment that Changed Our Lives

Editor's note: This story is one of the winning entries from the "Teach Us about Ukraine" writing contest sponsored by VOA Learning English and GoGlobal.

I'm Olena Zamorska and I teach English in Sophia Rusova Lyseum in Oleshnia, Ukraine.

It was early morning, exactly at 4:20 am, when I was awakened from my sleep by the sounds of explosions. My family and I rushed outside and watched with fear. We saw flashes in the sky and heard explosions and sounds of military vehicles. We were only thirty kilometers from the Russian border. That moment changed our lives, because we understood that the war had started.

I did not know what to do. I thought about my work and my students. I was a lead teacher in the eighth grade. I organized a meeting to calm my students. We had to learn to live and work remotely in a new dangerous situation. I gave my students schoolwork through their mobile phones and checked everything by collecting the exercise books. They brought them to the nearest shop. It was the place of meeting and communication at that time.

Our village was in a "grey" zone. Neither Ukrainian nor Russian troops were there. We did not have electricity, internet connection or food. And we could not communicate with people outside.

I rode my bicycle to visit students at their homes and keep in touch with their parents. I was a local authority in the village at that time and people listened to my words. I baked bread in a wood stove and brought it to people in need. People were very grateful because there was not enough food at the time.

Each night we heard and watched Russian airplanes and helicopters bringing bombs to Chernihiv and providing their troops with food and weapons. We believe they flew at night time to frighten and keep people from sleeping. The helicopters flew so low that we could see the pilot. It was very scary. We did not know what would happen next and prepared for the worst.

We organized villagers to defend ourselves. We made bombs and set up blockades with trees. We were ready to fight against our enemies and meet them at our land.

When we did not have electricity and connection, I rode my bicycle for 10 kilometers to stand on a hill and phone our relatives to inform them that we were alive. From that high place, I could use an expensive cell phone connection to try to get a short message across to family in occupied places. It was our only way to contact each other.

When Russian troops finally left Chernihiv, we resumed remote studying for the students. I tried yoga and started breathing exercises with my students. And I studied how to deal with traumas and manage difficult situations.

Nowadays my students and I live a normal life. We help our soldiers by making candles, knitting nets, warm socks, mats, collecting money and painting pictures and writing letters.

We hope our victory will be soon.

I'm Jill Robbins.

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About the writer

Olena Zamorska was born in the Chernihiv region, Ukraine to a working-class family. After completing secondary school, she worked as a school librarian. Then she studied at Kharkiv aviation institute and became an engineer in Oleshnia. Finally, she earned a teaching degree in 1999 and became an English teacher. She has found it more rewarding to work with children than with airplanes.