How one small NGO, with the help of an EU sub-grant, was able to help hundreds of residents of destroyed towns and villages

Ukraine is entering the new year of 2023 in a state of war and problems it has never faced before in its  modern history. The longer the war lasts, the more resources not only the state but also its citizens spend  on it. Volunteers, public associations, and charitable foundations come to the aid of citizens in  need. We would like to tell you how much can be done even by a small team on the example of the  project «Support of war victims with basic necessities and legal assistance», which has been  implemented by the Kyiv-based NGO «Let`s Get Together» over the past three months  as part of a sub-grant from the EU4CSOs Emergency Actions project with the financial support of the  European Union, implemented by the charity organization Network 100 Percent Life Rivne.

Wounded Irpin and Bucha

Representatives of the NGO «Let`s Get Together» started their project in Irpin and Bucha, which have not yet been fully restored. Kyiv civic activists chose to help residents of destroyed private homes with  disabled or elderly family members as well as families in which men were killed by the russian occupiers.

The locals were slowly coming to their senses, trying to clean up where their house once stood, which  had been turned into ruins. Many families returned from evacuation, even from the countries of  European Union, and tried to restore their pre-war lives, although it is difficult in a situation where  almost all businesses around them have been destroyed and there is not even a job for a minimum wage.

Here, 48 families were supported with food packages, medicines, and hygiene products under a sub-  grant from the EU4CSOs Emergency Actions project with financial support from the European Union.  Assistance was provided to people of working age whose sons were shot by the russian occupiers, or to  single widows whose husbands were killed by the russian invaders after being tortured. We helped  families with children whose homes were hit by a shell or whose houses and property burned down due to shelling.

Next was the village of Baklanova Muraviyka, Kulykivka district, Chernihiv region, with a pre-war  population of 645 people. Despite the fact that this village is small, 22 residential buildings were  completely destroyed as a result of the hostilities, and partial destruction was recorded in 114 residential buildings.

Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this grandmother had her own house, but now she has nothing

We were not able to help all the affected families. Food parcels, medicines and hygiene products were  distributed to people with disabilities, the elderly and large families in Baklanova Muraviyka. These  people were very grateful that they had not been forgotten in the faraway for them European Union and  sincerely thanked for the care.

Mutual support

The residents of Baklanova Muraviyka were so humane that they donated vegetables through the  volunteers of «Let’s Get Together» for equally needy IDPs from the east who found temporary shelter  in a unique camp near Gateway 1 in Hnidynia near Kyiv. This camp was created in the first days of Russia full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It was organized  by caring people from the NGO «For Our Future».

«In the first days, we were in a kind of panic, we wanted to run to the war front, to defend our country,  our families, our village with weapons. But there was no place for us, women, even in volunteer units.  And then the attack in our region was repelled and refugees began to flock to us. Geographically, they  came from all the occupied regions of Ukraine: from Chernihiv to Donetsk and Luhansk rigeons. People  needed everything – from diapers to dishes, because they sometimes fled with only documents and one  pair of winter shoes. Then we started to help these people, who were sheltered by locals in their country  houses, and organized a permanent field kitchen», – says Larysa, the camp’s commandant.

The NGO «Let’s Get Together» brought vegetables from Baklanova Muraviyka residents to this field  kitchen, which serves hot first and second courses to 50 to 150 people every day, regardless of weather conditions.

 

And within the framework of the EU4CSOs Emergency Actions sub-grant, with the financial support of the European Union, they immediately provided food packages and hygiene products to families from  Kharkiv`s Saltivka and the outskirts of Mykolaiv, occupied Luhansk, Donetsk, Melitopol, Mariupol,  bombed-out Hostomel, Chernihiv and Izyum, as well as the newly liberated Kherson, who are  now living in Hnidyn. Families from Zhytomyr, Chernihiv and Sumy regions were also supported.

The volunteers also did not leave the IDP camp at Gateway №1 empty-handed. After learning that  members of the NGO «Let`s Go Together» were going to visit several more de-occupied villages in Kyiv and Chernihiv regions, the volunteers handed over warm clothes and blankets to the villagers, as  the winter ahead was difficult for all Ukrainians.

These warm clothes were then delivered to the next war-affected village – the flooded and partially destroyed Demydiv, Kyiv region.

Also, thanks to the cooperation with the «100 Percent Life Network Rivne», the EU-funded  organization managed to bring 35 food packages, medicines, diapers, baby food, hygiene products and  pet food to the families affected by the war. The aid was primarily provided to the disabled, the elderly and large families.

In total, within the framework of the project "Support of war victims with basic necessities and  legal assistance", the EU-supported NGO «Let`s Get Together» provided 230 food packages  with hygiene products and medicines to the needy population affected by the hostilities. Namely, to the residents of:

Irpin and Bucha – 64 sets, Baklanova Muraviyka – 36 sets, the camp at Gateway 1 in Hniden – 30 + 9 sets, Demydiv – 35 sets, Staryi Bykiv – 36 sets, Dymer, Rykun and Kozarovychi – 21 sets.

More than 800 medicines, including almost 200 vials of iodine, as well as bandages and cotton wool,  were distributed to Ukrainians from vulnerable groups affected by the hostilities. We brought a blood  glucose monitoring system to the residents of Stary Bykiv village in Bobrovytsky district, Chernihiv  region, because their system was stolen by Russian soldiers during the occupation.

Forum of Good Deeds

One of the activities of the project «Support of war victims with basic necessities and legal  assistance», implemented by the NGO «Let`s get together» since October 2022  under the sub-grant of the EU4CSOs Emergency Actions project with financial support from the EU, was  to provide consultations on solving the problems of vulnerable populations affected by the war. 

During a visit to Irpin and Bucha on October 15, consultations were provided to residents of private  houses at 23 Pokrovska St., Irpin; 23 Kapitana Zaitseva St., Severinivska St., 176, affected by the  hostilities. They told them how to create an initiative group to repair an apartment building in Bucha at  53 Vodoprovodna Street. After the volunteers left before the frosty weather, the local authorities  repaired the roof destroyed by a missile strike and installed new windows.

In the interests of the affected  residents of Baklanova Muraviyka, «Let`s Get Together» made several inquiries to the  Chernihiv Regional State Administration, and the local residents received a response that gave them an  understanding of the assistance provided by the authorities. In general, you can read how we managed  to work in this direction in our publication «What Ukrainians affected by the war can expect:  explanations from ministries and a lawyer».

During the project implementation, «Let`s Get Together» received an official request for legal assistance:

  • an initiative group for the restoration of a house in Irpin at 61 Sadova Street;
  • the initiative group for the  restoration of a house in Irpin at 160 Severynivska Street (2nd entrance) NGO «For our future»;
  • initiative group «For the creation and preservation of green areas around Lake Telbin» (Kyiv).

This area of activity was of interest to other public and volunteer organizations, and Iryna Kovalchuk,  project manager of the NGO «Let’s Get Together», was invited to the «Forum of  Good Deeds – Invincible when we unite!». During the forum, Iryna spoke about the implementation  of the project «Support of war victims with basic necessities and legal  assistance» implemented by the NGO «Let`s Get Together» under a sub-grant  from the EU4CSOs Emergency Actions project with financial support from the EU, and how they  manage to help people establish contact with local authorities to rebuild their destroyed homes.
 
The publication was prepared within the framework of a sub-grant of the EU4CSOs Emergency Actions  projectwith the financial support of the European Union, implemented by the CO «Network 100  percent Life Rivne». The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the EU4CSOs  Emergency Actions sub-grantee, «Let`s Get Together», and do not necessarily reflect the views of the  European Union.
 

Iryna Kovalchuk, Deputy Head of the Public Council at the Dniprovskyi District State Administration in Kyiv

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