Dasha Andrienko, who was an Au Pair in Wayne from 2016 to 2017, woke up about a month ago at 5 a.m. to the sound of fireworks.

Looking out of her Kharkiv, Ukraine apartment, she saw the first attack on her home city.

The war had started.

Andrienko stayed in Ukraine even as the Russian invasion intensified to help her people.

Speaking from a base in west Ukraine, she described her experience in a March 16 Zoom interview with Lashay Smith, Jacob Pegan, Isaiah Dickson, Sydnee Reddy, and Marcus Alvarez for Cabrini University’s The Loquitur.

When the bombs started to fall, it was a moment reminding her that “everything is temporary” and it was people who mattered.

Friends across the globe have used social media to keep in touch with Andrienko, who feels blessed by those who have reached out.

 “I have a lot of close friends in Wayne and Phoenixville who reached out and are praying and staying in touch. Some sent donations for my personal needs and others sent donations for the mission, so I feel cared for and loved.”

These days, she volunteers to help evacuate people out of Kyiv and out of the country.

Read more at the Loquitor about Dasha Andrienko’s incredible experiences in Ukraine.

Here’s a video on Daash Andrienko and her experiences in Ukraine.