A refrigerator and a mobile phone for a self-settler from Paryshiv.

Hanna's house stands right by the Prypiat River. The groundwater there is so close to the surface that it is impossible to dig a cellar. In summer there was simply nowhere to keep food. She had electricity: a wire had once been run from the fire station next door. All she lacked was a refrigerator.

We wrote about it on the CHORNOBYL TOUR forum, and volunteers raised the money within days. Soon the refrigerator stood in Hanna's house. She could not believe that she now had a refrigerator of her own. She thanked us for a long time and was overjoyed.

That same day Hanna received a mobile phone - so she could call if something happened. She called many times. She phoned Yaroslav when she felt sad, and more and more often. She told him about her brother, her neighbors, her life, and asked how we were doing. That is how a very warm friendship grew between us.

Hanna always looked forward to guests. When we came with multi-day tours, she treated the tourists and brought out moonshine made from the fruit of her, as she put it, slightly radioactive garden.

Hanna passed away in the spring of 2014. We would like to believe she left a little happier than she was before she met us.