The Ukrainian from CB Oviedo Kristina Sotomayorwho fled her country to give birth in Spain, highlighted the support received from the Spanish embassy to leave Ukraine and the “great help” she felt upon her arrival “to be able to start life here again”.
“Since my husband is Spanish, we had support from the Spanish embassy and we felt a great help in general from the country.. Especially when they organized a collection of money for us to start life here again, in which many people participated. I cannot explain how grateful I am to all the people who contributed their grain of sand.. I didn’t expect so much love, and everything they did was amazing,” she said.
On the occasion of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, Kristina Sotomayor-Dzhanhobekova recounted her experience in an interview with the Spanish Badminton Federation (FESBA), after touring more than 3,000 kilometers from Lviv to Oviedo by car, shortly before the birth of his son Samuel.
“I remember that day, February 24. We were sleeping and I woke up around 7, I looked at my mobile and in a group I have with colleagues from Ukraine I saw a message from a woman who said something like: ‘Don’t worry, everything will be fine, be calm’. She didn’t understand what she was referring to, nor did she know what had happened. Already then I I found out that they were bombing areas on the border with Russia and you could hear the noise of sirens everywhere,” he explained.
The considered ‘most valuable player’ of the 2020 Iberdrola Cup and winner of the TOP10 title of the 2020-2021 Division of Honor, recognized that he never thought he would hear the pre-bombing sirens and that at that time she and her husband were thinking about whether or not to return to Spain and decided to return.
“I get information and the truth is that you suffer a lot… I think the best way to help the people there is by trying to get the children out, provide them with temporary housing, or promote activities in the facilities of a Club or CTD, at least until the end of the stage they are experiencing. Also help these children to play sports while being safe, and for parents to be calmer as much as possible, “he said.
As she adjusts to her new life, ‘Kristy’, as she is known to her clubmates, also saw donations to organizations that raise funds to buy and ship clothing and food as another very important way to help Ukraine, along with to the transfer of people who are in the border of Poland or Hungary to try to leave the country.
“A companion of mine named Olena BezshchasnaWhat is it volunteer in the Territorial Defense Battalion of the Obujiv municipalitykyiv region, told me that among his needs is the acquisition of a vehicle to help the transfer of people who want to move there, as well as the management of accommodation for refugees from the most dangerous areas,” he added.
