Background

Wyatt and I had just moved to our new house in Javea when we got involved with a local charity that was bringing Ukrainian refugees from Poland to Spain, and rehoming them in temporary accomodation.

Wyatt and his friend James went on one of the drives to Poland, and we ended up giving Anna (46), her mother Luda (67), her daughter Anastasia (8) and their gorgeous little pup, Sema, a home in our casita.

When they arrived, I was blown away by Anna's spirit - smiley, larger than life, capable, incredibly proud of her homeland, and relentlessly positive about the situation. Her blue and yellow "Ukrainian" NB trainers always made us smile!

Anna - the brightest light

Back in Ukraine, Anna had been a property manager for two really big residential complexes in Kharkiv. So she was used to managerial positions, and was a natural leader. She was always calling "her girls" (from her old team) and they were calling her, dealing with shattered glass from shelling, builders coming and going etc. Her ability to manage people and projects soon saw her getting a role with the charity as a sort of Operations Manager, helping liaise between the refugees and the volunteers to organise access to food, clothes, sort any issues etc. She was a mum to all of us.

Here's a photo of Anna when she heard she'd got a proper job with the charity. There were happy tears all round:

Soon, she was on the phone all the time here, sorting problems left right and centre. Nothing was ever too much trouble, and she always wore the biggest smile. She saw everything as possible and overcome-able, a real fighting spirit and the absolute backbone of her family (and at times, ours).

Given a laptop and a phone and some decent wifi, there wasn't anything she couldn't sort out.

Anna's resilience was truly breathtaking. She would call all her friends and family every morning and every night, just to ask "are you alive?". I had no idea how she managed to carry that stress but stay so upbeat herself.

The best thing about Anna was her laugh. She had a megawatt smile that lit up the whole room. When friends came round, I couldn't wait to introduce them to her. This super strong, capable, vivacious woman who'd got her family to safety and was determined to make a new life here until it was safe to return.

This photo sums up Anna for me :)

Tragedy strikes out of the blue

This part of the story is very hard to write.

On Friday morning 17th June, Anastasia burst into my house and was shouting "Gracie, Gracie, mama! Mama!". I ran down to the casita to find Luda, Anna's mum, trying to give her CPR.

I called an ambulance and ran to get our neighbour, who took over CPR until the ambulance arrived.

Tragically, there was nothing they could do.

Anna had had a major heart attack and died that morning. The trauma of that day will stay with all of us forever, and the strength and bravery of her little girl is a testament to her mother's own strength.

Luda told me that Anna used to say "I'm strong, but Anastasia is even stronger". I know now what she meant.

Why we need your help

Anna was the sole breadwinner and support of her little family. Tragically, her own dad died last year (Luda's husband), just before the war started, and Anastasia's father has never been in the picture. Anna was an only child.

So now Luda (who is waiting for a hip operation and isn't very mobile herself) and little Anastasia are on their own, and desperately missing Anna's strength and driving force. Anna looked after both of them.

The charity is working hard to get them to the US, which is where they have some family in the form of Luda's sister and her daughter, and where their future will hopefully be.

But the future is far from clear for them, and as Luda can't work right now (her hip makes her very immobile, plus she needs to take care of Anastasia), Luda needs all the help she can get. She's a very proud woman and would never ask for help, but I know that anything we can raise for her will be super appreciated.

Anastasia is an incredibly bright, helpful and creative little girl, and we just want to do all we can to help this little family not have to worry so much about money, on top of all the grief and trauma they've been through.

They've escaped a war zone, lost their only daughter/mum, and they really, really deserve some luck and good things to come their way.

Every single penny from this campaign will go to Luda, who is now the sole guardian of Anastasia and has the daunting task of raising her (she will do this admirably and is living for that little girl) and getting them to safety again in the US where they will at least have some family to lean on.

Thank you so much for reading this far, and for any support you can give.

Spasiba, thank you, and we miss you Anna. Every day.

xxx