Illustration: #DashaFilippova
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Nine-year-old Kira lives in Chernihiv. In March 2022, the city was constantly under fire from the Russian army and was under siege. Kira, together with her parents, brothers and sisters, was forced to continually hide in a shelter, where she thought about how she could help the Ukrainian military. The idea came unexpectedly: the girl saw on the Internet that people sell long hair and can get several thousand hryvnias for it. Kira never cut her copper-colored hair, growing it all her life. However, priorities changed during the war.
Kira began constantly talking about this to her father, who previously didn’t allow his daughter to cut her braids. This time, he saw the girl's determination and was moved by her charitable motives. So, after two months of constant discussions, Kira went to the hairdresser. She was very worried because she couldn’t imagine herself with a short hairstyle. Nevertheless, she dared to take this step.
The family sold the cut braids for 3,500 hryvnas (about 100 dollars). The parents transferred the funds to their friends who serve in the Armed Forces and fundraise for walkie-talkies and thermal imagers.
Kira's family home was also damaged in the shelling and needs repairs. However, the girl didn’t consider the option of spending the funds received from her hair on the renovation of her home, when many people are in even greater trouble.