Sasha’s story is a poignant example of resilience in the face of adversity.

Having lived through the harrowing experiences of escaping the conflict in Luhansk, where he and his family endured the harsh realities of life under occupation, losing his family, and facing significant trauma, his journey to recovery has been both challenging and inspiring.

Sasha is a 16-year-old boy from Sieverodonetsk. Before the war, he lived a happy life with his family and friends, dreaming of a career in car engineering while riding his BMX bike. After the war started, his family got into a car accident, and he saw his mother and brother burn to death in front of his eyes. Sasha was left with serious injuries and spent seven months in a hospital in occupied Luhansk. This period was critical for his physical healing but also marked by emotional turmoil. Following his hospital stay, he was placed under a guardian who exploited him for labour, adding another layer of difficulty to his young life.

Fortunately, Sasha maintained contact with his aunt, who legally should have been his guardian. As she managed to escape the occupied territory, she worked tirelessly to reunite with him. In December 2023, with the help of the Ukrainian authorities and organizations like Emile Foundation (then Orphans Feeding Foundation), Sasha was successfully returned to her care in Ukraine.

Since then, the support he has received has been multifaceted, focusing on both psychological healing and practical assistance. The Foundation has provided Sasha with psychological support to help him process his trauma and rediscover joy in life. Thanks to the then-Director of our branch in Ukraine, Maksym Lebid, we found an internship opportunity for Sasha at a local car repair shop in Zhytomyr. This has allowed him to gain valuable skills while fostering a sense of community and belonging. The shop owners, inspired by his story, have become mentors in his journey, further enhancing his confidence and passion.

Sasha’s dream of becoming a car repairer is rooted in his love for mechanics and engineering, reflecting his childhood memories of riding BMX with his brother. The connections he has with his past and his aspirations for the future have been significant motivators for his healing process.

As a special gesture, our team organized a birthday present for Sasha in the form of a brand-new BMX bike. He also had the surprise to hear the support of 2 of the biggest names in BMX riding in the world, Colin Varanyak (2023 X Games Gold medalist) and Ryan Williams (aka RWilly, 7-time X Games Gold medalist), wishing him strength on this special birthday. This extraordinary moment brought Sasha immense joy and reinforced the idea that dreams are attainable, no matter the obstacles one faces.

Now, as Sasha rides his new bike with friends in the quieter parks of Zhytomyr, he is not just moving forward physically but also emotionally, finding healing and hope in bike trick. His story is a testament to the power of support, community, and the enduring spirit of a young boy determined to rebuild his life and dreams.

TV report for the Ukrainian national broadcaster Inter TV-Channel

During our ground work in Ukraine beginning of May 2022, we had the amazing privilege and honour to be with two journalists who covered our whole mission from Kyiv to Odessa via Kharkiv, Mikolaivv and Zaporizhzhia.

As Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine enters its third month, we tend to forget about a very important group of invisible heroes : the journalists covering the conflict. Several of them -foreign and Ukrainian- have been killed since February 24, and dozens more have been wounded. The National Union of Journalists in Ukraine reports that as many as 20 reporters could have been killed so far, a figure that includes victims whose circumstance of the deaths have not yet been determined.

During this trip, our team got to know Alexandr Vasilchenko, one of the most authentic human beings and an amazing journalist. Not only is he covering the war with great professionalism but also with his heart and soul.

This video is one part of the whole documentary on our NGO’s humanitarian initiatives in Ukraine, especially focusing on our support to the Ukrainian refugees from Azovstal who had just escaped from Mariupol and arrived in Zaporizhzhia a few days before.

In parallel of this documentary, our foundation has been able to discuss with the refugees, listen to their traumatic experience and provide them with first-necessity supplies such as sanitary items, clean clothes and dumb phones, for them to be able to reassure their family members of their liberation.

But some of the people we met still can’t enjoy this new freedom completely, like Tania, who shared with us that her grand-mother is insisted for her to be part of the selected few to see the sun light again, while she would remain in the underground tunnels of the Azovstal, saying that she preferred to ensure her grand-daughter be guaranteed a free future instead.

As Alexandr Vasilchenko mentioned, those documentaries are essential because “the world needs to know what is really happening on the field”.