Hello,

My name is Liudmyla, and today I never imagined I would have to ask strangers for help.

My daughter and I are from Kyiv, Ukraine, where the war continues and our city regularly experiences missile and drone attacks. Like many Ukrainian families, we work hard to rebuild a sense of normal life despite the constant uncertainty. This vacation was meant to give my daughter a few peaceful days away from the stress we live with every day.

Sadly, our trip turned into one of the most difficult experiences we have ever faced.

We booked an apartment through Booking.com and arrived as planned. Everything seemed fine at first. After checking in, we went to buy groceries and explore the neighborhood.

When we returned and started unpacking, a huge insect suddenly fell next to my daughter. We were terrified. After checking what it was, we discovered it was an American cockroach. Moments later, we found another one.

My daughter was in shock and refused to stay inside the apartment. We immediately contacted the host. At first, she promised to refund the full booking amount because we had not spent even a single night there. Trusting her promise, we left the apartment and returned the keys exactly as instructed.

Unfortunately, the promised refund has not been made, and we are now trying to resolve the dispute through Booking.com.

With nowhere safe to stay that night, my daughter and I spent the night at the airport before changing our travel plans and flying to Paris. We lost money on accommodation, transportation, and airline tickets, and the vacation we had planned for months came to an abrupt end.

Living in Ukraine during wartime is already emotionally and financially challenging. These unexpected expenses have become an additional burden that we simply did not anticipate.

I never thought I would ask strangers for financial help, but today I have no other choice.

If you are able to support us, even a small donation will help cover our emergency travel expenses while we wait for the booking dispute to be resolved.

If you cannot donate, simply sharing our story would mean so much to us.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for reading our story, for your kindness, and for any support you can offer.

With gratitude,

Liudmyla & My Daughter