Ania

Ania is six-years-old and had a happy, carefree childhood in her native Mariupol. She enjoyed typical activities that little girls like her are supposed to, such as going to school and spending time with her family and friends. Everything changed the day Russia began its full-scale war with Ukraine.

The situation in the besieged city of Mariupol quickly resulted in a humanitarian crisis as access to food became scarce for its residents, including for Ania and her family. Her father was forced to seek emergency humanitarian aid, though it’s at this time that Russian aircraft began bombing the city – including the humanitarian aid facilities.

Ania’s father died on the spot when one of the bombs hit the facility where he was seeking food for his starving family. Following his death and the destruction of Mariupol, the family was forced to flee, taking just two bags of their belongings with them. Ania and her mother now have no where to return to: their home, and their family, have been completely destroyed.