Valentina: “This is the piece of home that keeps me grounded in the world that turned upside down”
Valentina: “This is the piece of home that keeps me grounded in the world that turned upside down”
Valentina Mitrofanovna Shtulberg, 77, from Kharkiv, holds her Bible at the Refugee Accommodation Centre in Mihailovca, Râșcani.
"I never thought I would live to see a full-scale war. I still struggle to believe it, even now. One day we were living our quiet life outside Kharkiv, about 30 km from the city, and the next, everything changed. My husband and I, both the same age, both already fragile with age, found ourselves on the road, leaving behind our house, our home, and our life. Our home is now one with the ground. Just like that.
We used to keep bees. My husband loved his honey. He would check on the hives with such interest and care. And I found joy in gardening. It was a simple life, but we loved our lives.
When the volunteers came and told us we can go to Moldova, we said yes, because we taught it was for a month. It has been three years. And we have nowhere to return to, nowhere that feels like before.
The journey to Moldova took around 24 hours. I still remember the silence in the car, heavy with exhaustion and uncertainty. And yet, when we arrived, we were met with warmth. We ended up in this small village. Our village. And to our surprise, it reminded us of home. The rhythm of life, the land, the routines, felt familiar.
A map showing Valentina's journey from Kharkiv to Mihaleni.
I took to the garden again, needing something to do with my hands, and to keep my brain busy. The church is nearby, and I started helping there too. Anything to keep my mind from wandering.
People here in the village were curious at first. Then, they approached us. Such kindness and warmth. Slowly, we merged. We became part of their rhythm. They worship in a way that feels close to what I knew back home.
When we left, I clutched my Bible on the whole way here. It’s old, but I tried to take great care of it. It reminds me of who I was before the war. This is the piece of home that keeps me grounded in the world that turned upside down.
Here in Moldova, I found great comfort in how the church feels. Thats the way Moldova won over my heart. There are beautiful traditions here, too. The Carpet Festival in the village, Easter, where we baked Pasca* with villagers. Some things are different, yes, but others feel like echoes of my past.
That’s what I hold onto. That’s my piece of home. And that’s my piece of hope."
*Pasca is a traditional Easter bread in many Eastern European cultures, particularly in Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine. It holds deep religious and cultural significance during Orthodox Easter celebrations.
