Ukrainian family with seven children received support in the Vitebsk region

The large family of Lyudmila and Sergey Kovalchuk now lives in the Dokshitsy district. The couple arrived in Belarus last summer from the Volnovakha district of the Donetsk region. They left their relatives, an unfinished house, their own business... All for the sake of their children, and the couple has quite a few of them: six daughters and one son. The eldest is 10 years old, and the youngest, Katyusha, is one and a half. All seven are born in consecutive years.

– The business (shoe repair services and food sales) was located in Donetsk and Mariupol. To get from our village to one of the locations, we had to spend 2 hours in traffic jams at checkpoints, – says Sergey. – It became increasingly difficult to earn money. The question arose: how to feed seven children? Even in peacetime, large families do not live in luxury.

Besides, the military situation was gradually escalating. The village was surrounded by checkpoints, and military equipment moved through it. Even during World War II, the lines of contact passed through Volnovakha. The Kovalchuks understood that everything could repeat itself decades later, as the location is strategically very convenient: there are railway junctions and elevations. The tension was also heightened by the fact that they lived on the fifth floor (they rented an apartment while building a house), and it is precisely there that shells most often hit during shelling.

– There was only one shelling incident while we were there, but the anxiety in the family grew. When putting the children to bed, we didn't know where it was best to lay them down to be sure of their safety, – adds Lyudmila.

– I knew that all this was wrong, – continues the husband. – Children should be in school, a husband at work, a wife at home peacefully. We are not ready to risk our family. We sold the property we could manage to sell for almost nothing, so we would have money for the journey and for the first time. The most valuable thing we have with us is our children.

When a newborn appeared in the family, the Kovalchuks decided to move to a quieter region. They chose Belarus, specifically Begoml in the Dokshytsy district. They contacted acquaintances online, who suggested that there were job opportunities in the settlement, which was one of the deciding factors for the head of the large family.

Sergey got a job at the forestry as a lumber sorter and, by his own assessment, receives a quite decent salary for current times.

Meanwhile, the former businessman does not intend to give up his favorite craft. He bought a special machine in Minsk and provides shoe repair services to the Begoml auxiliary boarding school and local residents. By the way, it was from this institution that the Ukrainian refugees were provided with a house for temporary use, and they were also helped with repairs.

From September, the man will also teach his craft to the boys of Begoml, leading an elective class. He approached the director of the boarding school with this initiative at the time, and it was supported.

“It would be good if even a few boys find this useful, if they apply the skills in their future profession. Moreover, shoe repair services are better paid in Belarus, which means the business is more profitable than it was in Ukraine. And in general, it is gratifying if the boys go down the right path,” Sergey is convinced.

For children, especially boys, who are left without parents, the presence of a real man in their lives, whom they can look up to, is very important. This could be, for example, a teacher, a coach, or a club leader. Thus, Sergey found an approach to the boarding school children, who often visit the hospitable home of the Kovalchuks.

While the husband is at work, and the children are at school and kindergarten, Lyudmila, with her youngest daughter, manages the household, but if necessary, after her parental leave ends, there is also an opportunity for her to find employment in the settlement in her profession as a nurse; a position has already been offered.

Over the year, they gradually settled in and did some minor repairs in the house. There are chickens in the shed, and the cellar is full of preserves prepared by the skilled hostess. By the way, local residents, as well as the school where the older children study, helped with vegetables and root crops. Soon, the family will have another acquisition – by New Year's, they will receive two two-room apartments in a house currently under construction.

– This is a special joy for us. If you tell anyone in Ukraine, no one will believe that this is possible. I heard about the socially oriented policy in Belarus, and there was hope that we would also be helped, – says the head of the family.

– We are not used to such attention to our family, to the support from the state and local authorities. In our homeland, if you want many children, you have them, but it's an exclusively personal matter, and you have to rely only on yourself. In our case, a large family appeared despite all the circumstances, – adds the wife.

Now, a new chapter in the life of the Kovalchuk Ukrainian family has begun, connected with the region near the Pripyat River. They admit that they are naturally drawn to their homeland, Lyudmila and Sergey, but for now, they understand that it is here, in neighboring Belarus, that there are such important and necessary conditions for the life of a large family, and everything is working out in the best possible way here. Therefore, they are gradually settling in.

Natalia Ryzhkova. Photos by Anton Stepanishchev, "Vitebskiye Vesti".