“Where there is love, there is a family”
“Where there is love, there is a family”
When Ruslan Voloshchuk, 54, opens the door to his home in Avangard in Odesa region, it’s not just a welcoming smile that greets you — it’s the feeling of strength, of love tested by war and tragedy, and rebuilt with hope and determination.
A foster father to six children: Vladyslav, Oleksandr and Danylo (18 years old), brothers Maksym and Vladyslav (14 and 15 years old), and Mykyta (10 years old); and a grandfather figure to two more: Ivan (9 years old) and Kyrylo (3 years old) , Ruslan’s path to parenting began in heartbreak. In 2010, after the tragic loss of his infant son and a divorce that followed, he made a life-altering decision – to open his home and heart to children who had no one else.
Over the years, Ruslan became a steadfast caregiver, taking in children and teenagers who for various reasons were left on their own. By 2022, he was caring for a busy household of foster children in his home in Beryslav, Kherson region, in the south of Ukraine, each with their own story of hardship and hope.
But when war reached their doorstep, the family faced their greatest challenge yet. On the first day of the full-scale invasion, the Russian Armed Forces entered the community, sealing off all entry and exit points. Shops and pharmacies closed. Food and medicine disappeared from the shelves. People in the neighborhood became cut off from the outside world.
Ruslan relied on the family he had built. They baked bread together and he was able to feed the family with vegetables he had earlier preserved.
“We survived because we worked together. We didn’t panic. The children were with me, and that’s what mattered.”
SURVIVING OCCUPATION AND SHELLING
But life in Beryslav became worse and worse, and Ruslan felt he had no other choice than to flee with his foster children. Or at least he tried to.
“The first time we tried to evacuate in 2022, our convoy was shelled. We had to return. We ended up living under occupation for nine months,” Ruslan recalls. “I was mostly afraid for the children, and for the risk that we could be separated.”
When Ukraine took back the control of Beryslav, the community remained very close to the frontline and became a constant target of Russian attacks.
One missile strike hit close by and caused severe damage to the house – so when the family finally managed to escape in November 2022, they left behind a home reduced to ruins. The windows and doors were all blown out, and the roof was damaged.
“Dozens of shells hit Beryslav every day. They used drones, bombs, everything… our homes, our schools, our hospitals, they were all destroyed,” explains Ruslan.
"I am very thankful for all the support we received here," Ruslan says. "Now my children and I have enough space and appliances to live comfortably and to start rebuilding our lives."
A NEW BEGINNING IN ODESA
For the first months in displacement, Ruslan and his family — now including six foster children and two grandchildren of former foster children — were accommodated in a temporary shelter . But then, in December 2024, they received life-changing news. Thanks to a state subsidy, the family received housing in Avangard, Odesa region, and the Olena Zelenska Foundation, in partnership with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, helped furnish the home with household appliances..
UNHCR is collaborating with the Olena Zelenska Foundation to provide vital support to displaced large foster families like Ruslan’s. Through the partnership, essential aid — from legal assistance and psychosocial support to household appliances and power stations to ensure energy during power outages — has reached war-affected families and ensured that foster children like Ruslan’s can regain stability and enjoy a brighter future.
UNHCR’s support has already reached large displaced foster families in Kharkiv, Odesa, Lviv, Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia, Ternopil, and other regions. This includes foster families who received new homes through state support, as well as those otherwise supported by the Olena Zelenska Foundation.
With the war relentlessly continuing, Ruslan dreams of seeing the children grow, and one day return to rebuild their original home in Kherson.
"I dream of peace, victory, and of my family being together," he says. “We will keep going. As long as we are together, we can overcome anything."
