Lesson 1111

The Moment that Changed Our

Lives
https://t.me/voa_learning_english

FILE - Ukrainian servicemen check newly build anti-tank fortifications and razor wire,
amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, near Russian border in Chernihiv region, Ukraine,
January 10, 2024. (REUTERS/Gleb Garanich)

Editor's note: This story is one of the winning entries from the "Teach Us
about Ukraine" writing contest sponsored by VOA Learning English and
GoGlobal.

I’m Olena Zamorska and I teach English in Sophia Rusova Lyseum in Oleshnia,
Ukraine.
It was early morning, exactly at 4:20 am, when I was awakened from my sleep by
the sounds of explosions. My family and I rushed outside and watched with fear.
We saw flashes in the sky and heard explosions and sounds of military vehicles.
We were only thirty kilometers from the Russian border. That moment changed
our lives, because we understood that the war had started.

I did not know what to do. I thought about my work and my students. I was a lead
teacher in the eighth grade. I organized a meeting to calm my students. We had to
learn to live and work remotely in a new dangerous situation. I gave my students
schoolwork through their mobile phones and checked everything by collecting the
exercise books. They brought them to the nearest shop. It was the place of
meeting and communication at that time.

Our village was in a “grey” zone. Neither Ukrainian nor Russian troops were
there. We did not have electricity, internet connection or food. And we could not
communicate with people outside.

I rode my bicycle to visit students at their homes and keep in touch with their
parents. I was a local authority in the village at that time and people listened to
my words. I baked bread in a wood stove and brought it to people in need. People
were very grateful because there was not enough food at the time.

FILE - A child plays near School No. 21, which was destroyed by the Russian army, in
Chernihiv, Ukraine, on Jan. 16, 2023. (AP Images for Global Partnership for Education)

Each night we heard and watched Russian airplanes and helicopters bringing
bombs to Chernihiv and providing their troops with food and weapons. We
believe they flew at night time to frighten and keep people from sleeping. The
helicopters flew so low that we could see the pilot. It was very scary. We did not
know what would happen next and prepared for the worst.

We organized villagers to defend ourselves. We made bombs and set up blockades

with trees. We were ready to fight against our enemies and meet them at our land.

When we did not have electricity and connection, I rode my bicycle for 10
kilometers to stand on a hill and phone our relatives to inform them that we were
alive. From that high place, I could use an expensive cell phone connection to try
to get a short message across to family in occupied places. It was our only way to
contact each other.

When Russian troops finally left Chernihiv, we resumed remote studying for the
students. I tried yoga and started breathing exercises with my students. And I
studied how to deal with traumas and manage difficult situations.

Nowadays my students and I live a normal life. We help our soldiers by making
candles, knitting nets, warm socks, mats, collecting money and painting pictures
and writing letters.

We hope our victory will be soon.

I'm Jill Robbins.