Threads of Resilience

Lysychansk had been Iryna Kunytsia’s entire world. For years, she had lived a life defined by care — first tending to her paralyzed husband until his death in 2020, then filling the silence with work at a bakery. A private house, a small routine, a life carefully stitched together against loneliness.

The war didn’t arrive suddenly. It crept in, like a shadow growing longer with each passing year. Since 2014, her city had lived on the edge — a Ukrainian flag hanging defiantly against the growing tension. Her neighbor, a separatist, was a constant reminder of the invisible lines that were tearing communities apart.

When evacuation came, Iryna knew survival meant leaving everything behind.

The journey was a patchwork of kindness and struggle. A broken-down vehicle. A village. A compassionate stranger who offered her shelter and a small patch of earth to tend. She planted hope alongside vegetables, finding solace in simple routines. But the stress spoke its own language — a heart attack that whispered of the trauma she’d endured.

The Dell Loy Hansen foundation wasn’t just offering her a home. They were offering resurrection.

When Maria called on November 9th, Iryna could hardly believe it. Hope had become a rare commodity in her life. Apartment 7Б.4А in Senior Chudo Village was more than an address. It was a lifeline.

“Even in the hardest times, preserve your humanity, ” she would say. Words earned through years of watching life unravel and stitch itself back together.

Her health was a map of her journey — a heart that had weathered personal loss, war, displacement. No pension yet, struggling for recognition as a displaced person, she remained unbowed.

To the younger generation, she offered wisdom not as a lecture, but as a gentle truth: Nobody knows what tomorrow brings. Help those around you.

To Dell Loy Hansen, she would say more than thank you. She would speak of communities rebuilt, of dignity restored, of hope reimagined.

In Senior Chudo Village, Iryna found more than a home. She found a chance to breathe, to hope, to begin again.