Uliyana Batalia, 12, lives alone with her mother in the war-torn eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk. Each day is a new struggle for them to survive the constant fighting and meet their basic needs.

One bright spot is the JDC-sponsored Teen Club at Lugansk’s Jewish community center. There, each Sunday she escapes with her friends into a better, more hopeful world where she can dance, paint, and dream like any other kid.