[Sonya] My neighbour and a woman from the next building were killed
They'd cooked a meal and gone to the entrance
A shell landed nearby, they were hit by shrapnel
[Sasha] I was scared of the war
The shooting and banging,
and suddenly, a mortar came flying in
Then a tank was firing, and the next day, there was shelling
They couldn't hit it at first, but then they did
[Brothers] A missile was shot down
but it still landed and exploded, and shrapnel...
flew through the bushes, mum shielded Arina with her body
[Girl] All three of us were indoors, dad was on the floor
We pulled him to the corridor,
he said: 'Where are you taking me? My legs are torn off.'
[Title] YOUNG HOPE OF DONBASS
[Boy1] Damn [Boy2] Did you see that goal?
[Boy1] You just got lucky
[Pavel] These kids, relief effort volunteers,
get more than they could possibly get
[Pavel] They give back, care for others and help people
[Subtitles] PAVEL CHUMIKOV VOLUNTEER, ‘FOOD FOR LIFE’ CHARITY
[Pavel] And...
their deeds are sure to have real impact on them in the future
[Pavel] Wherever you are, whatever happens to you,
you can get happy by helping and caring for others
I think if they get that experience... and they're sure getting it now,
their experience will help a lot in life
[Nikolay] Any city, town, or residential area is never just the buildings
[Subtitles]] NIKOLAY MORGUNOV MAYOR, SEVERODONETSK, LPR
[Nikolay] Ruined or rebuilt, in good condition or bad,
it is firstly the people who live there
Despite the circles of hell they've gone through, they've held on to their
real humanity and work as volunteers, willingly and for free
That's worth a lot
[GEO] SEVERODONETSK, LPR
[Man1] Good day! [Man2] Good day!
[Woman] This goes here too? [Man] To the right
[Nikolay] Probably, one of the most striking examples is Sonya, a 14-year-old girl
Such commitment and such love for her small town,
which was in a very difficult situation,
[Subtitles] SONYA SEVERODONETSK, LPR
are hard to find
[Sonya] How many of you? [Man] Five
[Sonya] When I hand out hot meals, it makes me feel so warm inside...
in my heart. I really like it a lot!
I just can't describe it...
I always wish people a good day,
bon appétit
I talk to people
[Sonya] How many of you? [Old man] Four, miss
[Sonya] Four? [Old man] Four
[Woman] Next!
[Sonya] On February 24th, I went to school
I sat with my classmates by our class,
and the chemistry teacher said to go downstairs when the shells started
It got intense we bounced from wall to wall, then my eye started twitching
My neighbour was killed
and a woman from the next building, also a neighbour
A shell landed nearby, they were hit by shrapnel
I was getting hot meals from my neighbourhood,
and Valery asked if I'd help him
I agreed...
And ever since, I've been helping out, I really like
[Woman] Careful it doesn't spill
We'll deliver it all while it's hot and give it to grandpa, who's bed-ridden
Lids, lids...
[Teacher] And 1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 7, 8
[Sonya] Dancing...
is everything to me, pretty much
It's fun, it's groovy, it's lots of friends, and the instructor is great
[Teacher] Let's keep the pattern for now. Split into two lines,
down here... And then we move into one line
Let's do it the way we're standing now: one, two, three...
four...
That way
2, 3, 4...
[Sonya] Since childhood, I've dreamt of becoming a dancer and a singer
I love that feeling, it's impossible to describe, when you dance on stage
It's like a mild... state of shock!
But then, when people start clapping, you just really enjoy it and start...
you're smiling and opening up
[Elena] Dancing, it's joy
We want to live in our city, we want to be happy
Sonya is my little star, I call her Little 'Kuzya'
[Subtitles] ELENA POLTAVSKAYA DANCE INSTRUCTOR, CHOREOGRAPHER
[Elena] Honestly, it was a revelation for me,
when I found out that she helps, engages in this kind of activity
I only found out when she brought me some food
[Woman] You should take soup
[Elena] To say she's big-hearted...
is an understatement
She just has a huge, huge heart and a huge, huge, kind soul
[Pavel] When we arrived, we saw a big crowd, adults, old people, kids
[Subtitles] PAVEL CHUMIKOV VOLUNTEER, ‘FOOD FOR LIFE’ CHARITY
[Pavel] And we knew they needed help
but we were short of volunteers, not many of us
not many of us. We we had to load up and get there,
we had to reload everything, drive back, and...
we were really exhausted
We got there and I saw some kids
I decided to ask them to help
To my surprise, they responded well and quickly started to help
So, with enthusiasm, they were soon engaged in helping to hand out food
[GEO] STAROBELSKY DISTRICT, LPR
[Man] Anyone at the counter wears this [Sasha] Behind the counter, wear…
[Subtitles] SASHA KREMENSKOY DISTRICT, LPR
[Man] Dasha!
Put away the tablet, will you?
[Sasha] You'll stand there then
[Boy] Eight [Woman] Go on...
[Sasha] 9, 10, 11, 12
[Valentina] I woke up because of the rumble
In our settlement...
[Subtitles] VALENTINA IVANOVA SASHA'S MUM
[Valentina] the Chervona Dibrova, khutor in Kremenskoy District,
soldiers marched by
[Valentina] And literally in five minutes
8 or 9 came down in my garden
The 10th and 11th hit my house
[Valentina] The houses fell in
It's hard to explain, it folded like a book
[Valentina] It's gone. Slate and stuff flew around
I covered the little one, the kids with my body,
and my mum too, her legs are rubbery, she can't walk
Sasha grabbed her, 'Granny, let's go!' Crying and panic
[Valentina] Somehow, we crawled our way just to get out of there
[Valentina] I said, 'Alright, children,
I promise to get you out so that nothing happens to you.'
[Valentina] But when the shell hit the house, we really did get very scared
We didn't think we'd make it out alive, none of us at all...
[Valentina] Not Egorka, nor Dasha, nor Sasha, no one
We thought we were going to die there
[Pavel] Were you scared?
[Pavel] What was the scariest? [Sasha] For me?
[Pavel] Yes
[Sasha] I was scared of war
Out there, shooting and banging
[Sasha] A mortar flew in unexpectedly
[Pavel] What happened? You went home. A soldier? What happened?
[Pavel] What happened?
[Sasha] To the soldier? [Pavel] Yes, remember what happened?
[Sasha] His head got torn off in the trench
[Sasha] Then, the other one, who was with me, took a fragment in his leg
[Sasha] And then another hit his stomach. That was it! Gone!
[Sasha] His name was Sasha
Shells were landing in the garden. They looked like missiles, long ones
[Sasha] And then the tank finished firing
There was shelling the next day
[Sasha] They missed at first, and then hit the target
[Valentina] Yes, he is a kind boy. Sometimes it's hard for him to go to school
It depends on his mood. But my boy is actually kind
[Sasha] Take this. [Boy] Thank you
[Sasha] Take this [Girl] Thanks
[Sasha] Take this [Boy] Thank you
[Valentina] When they began shelling near us, he promised something
He said, 'I'll help with everything I can, so we stay alive.'
[Valentina] He's trying his best to keep his word
and actually does stuff,
like he helps old ladies to take the garbage out
[Sasha] Vlad, how many? 6?
[Woman] Pay attention and listen when you're spoken to!
[Sasha] One more roll [Woman] Yes, dear, go on, go on...
[Woman] You can take the dish with you [Old woman] Thank you! I'll bring it back later
[Man] No, no, you can keep it
[Sasha] Mister! Here!
[Man] Thanks! You're the best! Hold on!
[Sasha] That's it!
[Valery] The philosophy... Actually, there was no philosophy
We were just shorthanded, short of specialists
[Subtitles] VALERY DOLGOPOLOV HEAD, ‘FOOD FOR LIFE’ CHARITY
[Valery] We needed people's help
[Valery] And the guys wondered, 'Can we do anything for you?'
We're always kind to them
[Valery] Maybe that's what's lacking now in everyday life here in Donbass?
They've seen a lot of violence
[Valery] For them, being treated as equals, as friends,
as partners, has melted their hearts. Naturally, they were willing to help
[Valery] That's...
how it grew...
[Valery] This movement 'Youth of Donbass' began, and 'Food for Life'
[Subtitles] MAKS AND NIKITA, BROTHERS KUPYANSKY DISTRICT, KHARKOV REGION
[Elena] I have 8 sons and a daughter, who's the youngest
We happen to have ended up here
[Subtitles] ELENA KRAMAROVSKAYA MAKS AND NIKITA'S MUM
[Elena] 4 of my sons are in different parts of the world
I even have two grandsons
[Elena] They often came to visit
Now everyone's on their own
[Elena] Still, I know everything about my kids:
who's where...
and what they're doing
[Maks] First, mum and dad took a scooter and went to ask the soldiers
what the situation was
They said that it was better to leave for 2 or 3 days
We've been gone longer!
[Nikita] We've been here 6 months [Maks] Let alone other places!
[Elena] On February 24, we drove into the city
There were Russian flags everywhere, so nice!
[Elena] I liked that they lit the eternal flame and praised veterans,
and remembrance of our grand- and great-grandfathers of 1941-45
was put in first place
[Elena] I liked that straight away
[Elena] I always tell them that if they see an old lady with heavy bags,
they should help her carry them, or give up their seat on a bus,
or on a park bench, so they act respectfully
[Elena] When we teach small children to respect each other,
and especially to respect the elderly, then things will be different
[Elena] They went to children's sport clubs and groups for football and wrestling
[Nikita] In our family, we're among the oldest of those here now
[Nikita] We mostly play football, and we're the best at it
[Nikita] When you score a goal, you feel like a real team player
[Maks] But today we didn’t score [Nikita] I did! He let me, but it still counts
[Elena] There was a roadblock where lindens grew
[Elena] I said 'who knows what kind of winter we'll get?'
[Elena] Let's go and pick some! Then we can steam and drink it
[Elena] We began to collet linden, then heard a loud bang...
followed by a stronger one. I turned and saw it coming down
[Nikita] In short, they shot the rocket down, but it still landed and exploded
[Nikita] The fragments flew through the bushes,
and mum shielded Arina with her body
[Elena] Thank God it was aimed at the factory! It hit the walls
for another 10 minutes. Fragments flew, shredding walls and trees
[Elena] It was very scary
[Elena] Volunteers are hard pressed at any time day or night
to help people like us,
dress us, feed us, prepare documents, help getting pensions...
[Elena] But they help others out of the goodness of their hearts
[Elena] How much? Half? [Man] Yes
[Elena] Half with goulash on top
[Sasha] Grandma, how much?
[Old lady] A bucket. [Sasha] Yours, right? How much?
[Old lady] That's it!
[Old lady] Thank you, thank you!
[Old lady] Thanks a lot!
[Author] How would you describe volunteers?
[Brothers] They're people who help others, those with nothing. No food, no clothes...
[Nikita] Their souls are open to people
[Subtitles] ANYA SVATOVSKY DISTRICT, LPR
[Valery] Why did I take notice? She's one of those kinds of people...
[Valery] You know? You look into her eyes, and they are clean, pure
[Subtitles] VALERY DOLGOPOLOV HEAD, 'FOOD FOR LIFE' CHARITY
I thought such things had long since gone
[Valery] I began to inquire where she was from
They bombed her house to the ground. Her dad was seriously injured
He needed medicine and constant care. Anechka did everything herself
[Valery] I found out about this later. Naturally, I wanted to support her
[Valery] You see, that way the process of interaction and cooperation begins
[Anya] I help bake bread, knead the dough, sprinkle sesame, sunflower,
poppy seeds. So I spice up the already-baked loaves
[Anya] I also tidy up and wash the dishes
[Valentina] We heard a shell land...
[Subtitles] VALENTINA KORNIENKO ANYA’S MUM
[Valentina] Glass shattered in the windows
Vova, my son, shouted: 'Everyone inside?'
[Valentina] Anya said: 'No, dad's missing!'
We go out into the corridor and see him lying with broken legs
[Valentina] My son grabbed him and started to pull. He screamed:
'Where are you hauling me? My legs are torn off!'
[Valentina] My daughter, Anya, ran to him
They pulled him into the corridor
[Valentina] He was bleeding from his stomach, from his legs...
We dressed his legs while they kept on shelling
[Valentina] The Ukrainian shelling was horrific that day
I ran to the soldiers barefoot through the mud, and they said:
'We sent an armoured vehicle out
[Valentina] We know about you and will take people out of Kupyansk,
from the Kharkov region, then pick you up.'
[Valentina] They loaded him on to armoured transport and took him to Svatovo
[Anya] I didn't eat for several days. We were in the cellar,
then we went into the house
[Anya] I was sitting with my left ear close to the window,
2 or 3 metres away from the glass
[Anya] A shell landed in the garden
The glass shattered near me. Because of that
[Anya] I'm a bit hard of hearing in my left ear
Since childhood I've always wanted to be a surgeon, to help people
[Anya] When he was discharged and came home,
[Anya] I was the one bandaging his wounds, cleaning them, treating the fixators
that held his bones in place, giving injections...
[Father] How is it? [Anya] The wounds are clean,
[Anya] I cleaned them yesterday. So, we just need to apply some ointment
[Father] Is it big?
[Anya] No, the wound's small
[Father] Interesting, I'd like to have a look
[Anya] When we did the 1st X-ray,
the surgeon asked who cleaned the wounds
[Anya] Dad said I had. He was told that if healing continued at the current rate,
devices can be removed in about two months
'Food for Life' volunteers are those who dared to come to Donbass,
in the first place, to help and feed people
[Anya] Because there are no options for a person holding out in a basement
[Anya] They can't prepare food for themselves or bake bread
It seems to me that it's a big risk
[Anya] I want to help. First and foremost by feeding people
[Anya] And I do it purely of my own volition
[Valery] For her sake, I'll be here: I'll be here for as long as it takes
Why?
Because it's contact with volunteers and what they draw from it
that makes them happy
And for a hundred of these sincere, young children...
I'll be here!