Building a shelter for refugees in Kharkiv region

30-11-2022 · 4 min for reading

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion by the Russian army, residents of many regions of our country are suffering losses every day. Kharkiv region was a shield to protect all eastern cities, taking a huge share of losses and damage.

Our organization has always tried not to stand aside and help, solving the urgent problems of our time. At first, it was assistance with humanitarian kits and basic medicines, as logistics were disrupted and people could neither buy nor receive the necessary products for life, except through volunteers.

After the liberation of villages and towns in Kharkiv region began, people were able to start leaving, as they were deprived of their homes and jobs. We organized evacuations from various difficult and very dangerous settlements where the front line was just a few kilometers away. Our volunteers have evacuated more than 20 thousand people.

With the onset of cold weather, the issue of heating points arose for residents of villages and towns who did not want to leave or returned home. For those who still decided to leave, our organization decided to organize a shelter.

Through this project, we strive to help the people we evacuate from uninhabitable areas by providing them with everything they need while adapting to life outside their homes. The first weeks after evacuation is a very difficult period, you need to decide where to go next, where to live, how to earn money and much more. The purpose of this project is to support people in the period of adaptation after evacuation, to give them the opportunity to stay in a safe place, to provide them with everything they need, food, personal hygiene products, medicines and to help them determine their permanent place of residence. The project is designed to provide single women with children or large families (3 or more children). For those who have the opportunity to go to relatives, we will try to provide transport (bus, train); for those who do not have the opportunity to stay with relatives or friends, we will try to provide accommodation in the western regions of Ukraine or help to go abroad.

For this purpose, we are currently making cosmetic repairs in the shelter on our own, but there is still a lot of work to be done: we need to install additional household appliances and equip bathrooms.