Fragments of Home

Paraskoveivka is a memory now. For Liudmyla Eiubova, a 70-year-old former crane operator, home had become a series of temporary spaces — a dachshund she loved tending, a cleaning job at a local store, a grandmother’s inherited apartment.

Twice she tried to leave in 2022. Twice she returned. On September 27, she finally departed with friends to Kremenchuk, carrying nothing but memories and uncertainty.

Kryvyi Rih became a two-year holding pattern. Shared rent with friends, half her meager income gone to housing. Medicines became a luxury. Loneliness is her constant companion.

The Dell Loy Hansen foundation wasn’t just offering housing. They were offering a possibility of breathing.

Her boss had helped her fill out the application. Letters were written. Hopes were carefully constructed. When the call came, it was shock and disbelief wrapped in a thin layer of joy.

Senior Chudo Village arrived with mixed emotions. Pretty little houses, well-equipped. But something was missing. The feeling of home. Of roots.

Her health whispered stories of age — legs that didn’t cooperate, a body wearing down. But her spirit remained unbroken.

To the younger generation, she offered a prayer more than advice: “Believe in the future. Believe in peace. Pray for a time when children can sleep safely and husbands return to their mothers.”

To Dell Loy Hansen, she would speak of miracles. Of angels blessing a mission of compassion. A person from another continent, standing guard over the lives of elderly Ukrainians.

Her plans were simple. To exist. To remember. To hope.