Raisa Dovgal

Raissa Dovhal from Pokrovsk, Donetsk region. She is 86 years old.

She is a teacher of Ukrainian and Russian languages. She worked at a pedagogical institute, preparing applicants for entrance exams. She was also an inspector of educational institutions in the city. The woman truly loved her job. She worked until the age of 65 and has a total of 47 years of work experience.

“I really loved children and students. I always helped everyone. I never raised my voice at anyone. And the children responded to me with mutual respect,” says Mrs. Raissa.

By the way, she started studying the Ukrainian language at the institute of her own accord, as an extra subject.

“I am very grateful to all the staff for helping me recover and return to our shelter. Here, clean clothes, a made bed, and the warm smiles of the girls were waiting for me, which are especially comforting in these times.”

She recalls her childhood with warmth. Her parents were from Poltava and were very hardworking, remembers Mrs. Raissa. At home, they spoke Ukrainian, so little Raya heard the melodious language from an early age. She is grateful to her parents for their upbringing and the love they showed her.

“Mom and Dad always treated me with love, spoke to me gently, and I’ve taken that approach to children as my foundation,” says Mrs. Raissa.

Her life credo is: to love people and help everyone who asks.

She has been in Ivano-Frankivsk for a little over a month, arriving here in August. She hesitated until the very last moment to leave. She misses her hometown but is glad to be safe now.

“I was determined not to leave. I believed I could manage to stay safe, but the enemy is destroying everything around us every day—hospitals without windows, without doors, there are no doctors left, and it was painful to look at the children—their eyes were filled with fear. I found out about the shelter by chance and decided to go,” says the woman.

Upon arriving in the Carpathians, the woman visited her family doctor for the first time since the war began and signed a declaration with him. However, as soon as the examination started, she fell ill—likely contracted an infection during the journey. Mrs. Raissa felt very unwell, and neither medication nor warm drinks helped, so she had to be hospitalized in the hospital in Kalush via ambulance. She was diagnosed with pneumonia.