Liliia Katsen is 45 years old. She was born in Enerhodar, a city where the hum of the power plant became part of everyday life. That is where she spent her youth, met the man she would live with for 18 years, and gave birth to her three sons.

Their life looked much like that of thousands of other families: work, routines, plans, and constant moving in search of stability. Her husband worked in construction, so in 2017 the family relocated to the Odesa region — first to Biliaivka, then to Velykyi Dalnyk, where he found new work and hoped to build a better future.

But behind the appearance of an ordinary family story, another reality had been hidden for years.

Domestic violence is something many people stay silent about until the very end. Liliia stayed silent too. She endured. She tried to keep the family together for the sake of the children. But eventually there came a moment when staying became more dangerous than stepping into the unknown.

Three years ago, she made the decision that changes a life outwardly in a single moment, but internally breaks and rebuilds a person over many years. She left home.

Without stability. Without certainty about tomorrow. But with three children and one powerful determination — to save them from growing up in fear.

During that difficult period, Liliia turned to the Christian mission “New Life.” There, she was helped to find shelter in the Mother and Child Home. Volunteers provided the family with the essentials: housing, clothing, support, and simple human words that sometimes save a person just as much as money does.

One of the hardest moments for her was when her eldest son, Nikita, decided to stay with his father. For any mother, that feels like a wound that cannot quickly heal. But Liliia did not pressure him or force him to choose sides.

Some time later, his father passed away.

After his death, Nikita returned to his mother. Today, the whole family is together again. They live in the Mother and Child Home, slowly building a new life — without fear, shouting, or constant tension.

Now Liliia is not only receiving help; she also supports other women herself. She works in the laundry room, participates in mission projects, and encourages mothers who have just arrived and still struggle to believe that life can be different.

Her story is not about a perfect miracle.

It is about the fact that a person can recover even after years of pain if there are people nearby who refuse to walk away.

Her sons go to school, have friends, and live active lives — and today, that normality is their greatest victory.

Because sometimes a new life does not begin with grand words.

Sometimes it begins with the quiet moment when, for the first time in a long while, everything finally feels calm.