Didenko Family
From: Mariupol, Donetsk region
Family members: Oleksandr Volodymyrovych (77) DIED in winter 2024, Halyna Yevhenivna (76), and Olha Oleksandrivna (daughter, 52)

Escaping With Only Their Lives

One month after the war began, the Didenko family’s house burned down during combat operations in Mariupol. “It happened early at dawn,” they recall. “We barely managed to run out of the house in what we were wearing.”

Their escape from Mariupol represents one of the most harrowing experiences of the war, as the city was subjected to a devastating siege that left much of it in ruins. Their home was destroyed, leaving three generations of the family with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

The family did not provide details about how their lives have changed in Miracle Village or whether they’ve found employment or volunteer opportunities. However, their presence in the community represents a crucial lifeline for a family that lost everything in one of the most heavily damaged cities of the war. After escaping with only their lives from a burning home during the siege of Mariupol, they have found safety and appropriate housing that allows three generations to remain together despite their profound loss.