Marharyta Chykalova, 16, from Kherson, takes part in costume preparation before the rehearsal of a play during a theatre class at the Atelier Theatre in Sopot, Poland, February 17, 2024. Chykalova, who turns 17 in March, left her hometown of Kherson in southern Ukraine with her mother in April 2022 after sleeping in a basement for weeks as Russian troops occupied the city, fearing for her life. They fled to Moldova, then to Romania before settling in the Polish city of Gdynia. The soft-spoken student joined theatre classes which allowed her to express her emotions on stage and helped her make new friends. “Some people say that home is not a place where you live, but home is a place where you feel good and I feel good on the stage, with people close to me. This is my home.” REUTERS/Kacper Pempel