Illustration: #AnnaIvanenko
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In July 2022, Lida celebrated her ninth birthday. The girl lives in Mukachevo, a city in the Zakarpattia Oblast. On the eve of the holiday, her mother asked Lida what she wanted to receive as a present. The schoolgirl thought for some time, and then came to her mother with the answer: "Mom, the most I want is peace and the end of the war with our victory!".
In Ukraine, even before the beginning of the full-scale war against Russia, many people asked to transfer money to charity funds and volunteers instead of gifts. And in recent months, this trend has gained an even wider scope: a donation for the needs of the army has become the most desired gift for Ukrainians. So, Lida's mother listened to her daughter's wish and asked all her friends to give her a few hryvnas for the birthday.
In total, Lida received 6,000 hryvnas (about 170 dollars) and 40 euro from friends and family. Lida's family decided to give half of the amount to the Zakarpattia Military Support Movement, the other half to volunteer and writer Andriy Lyubka, who was collecting for a car for the Armed Forces. Andriy says that recently he receives more and more donations from children.