Project “Firewood”
Bohodukhiv, Shevchenkivska Community (Kupiansk District), Kharkiv Region
Last week, the final trips took place as part of our project to provide people with firewood. We worked in two directions simultaneously. In Bohodukhiv District, where we received specific requests for help, we managed to supply firewood to 165 households. In Shevchenkivska Community, another 20 families received support.
We personally visited these locations, spoke with people, and saw firsthand that most of them had only recently fled from the Kupiansk area. These families are in particularly dire situations and urgently needed assistance. At that time, temperatures in the Kharkiv region had dropped to -20 to -22 degrees Celsius, making firewood a true lifesaver. People sincerely expressed their gratitude for the warmth and support, which gave them hope to endure the winter.
The coordinator of the Shevchenkivskyi Information and Humanitarian Center provided us with details on the families in greatest need. He also extended his deep appreciation to the foundation for supporting displaced persons—people forced to leave their homes due to ongoing hostilities and now stranded in unfamiliar towns and villages without even the most basic necessities.
Stories of Those We Helped
One family now residing in Verkhnia Zoryanka consists of a 55-year-old woman and her 85-year-old grandmother. They moved into a house with partial gas heating, but due to financial constraints, they had to rely on a wood stove. With almost no firewood available, they risked their lives gathering twigs from the surrounding fields, many of which remain heavily mined. Thanks to the foundation’s support, they now have enough firewood to keep their home warm. For them, this means life goes on.
Two other families, who arrived from Vovchansk, are currently living in the village of Tetianivka. Their situation is even more severe: they arrived with nothing—no supplies, no provisions. Thanks to the foundation’s assistance, they received not only firewood but also food and bedding, giving them at least the minimal conditions for survival.
Another family, a single mother with two children, settled in the village of Borovske. Their house had no heating at all. Their small stockpile of firewood from the previous year had run out, and the mother was unable to provide her children with adequate living conditions. With the foundation’s help, this problem was solved—the home is now warm, and the children received not only essential supplies but also small gifts: sweets and plush toys. This simple act of kindness reassured them that they were not forgotten and that there are people willing to support them in difficult times.
As the coordinator of the Shevchenkivskyi Information and Humanitarian Center, I want to express my deepest gratitude to your foundation. You always respond to calls for help and stand by people during their most challenging times.
Project Impact
✅ Bohodukhiv District – 165 households (330 cubic meters of firewood)
✅ Shevchenkivska Community – 20 households (40 cubic meters of firewood)
🔹 Total assistance: 185 families, 370 cubic meters of firewood distributed
This project is yet another testament to the fact that together, we can change lives for the better! 💙
Kherson Region
Warmth for Kherson
Last week was just another ordinary volunteer week. Ordinary—if you consider feeding animals, refueling generators, repairing plumbing, conducting pest control, and preserving warmth in an entire city under shelling as “ordinary.”
We fed two animals that have long been part of our volunteer family. We refueled five generators—ensuring that light and heat persist where they are needed most.
Pest control is another front in this battle. We cleaned eight facilities, including one large warehouse and three basements. Where people live and work, there is no place for rodents.
A woman from the red zone received a new plumbing system—something that may seem mundane, but in frontline villages, even such a small improvement can be life-changing.
We also provided bedbug treatment supplies—because even war doesn’t cancel the struggle for basic living conditions.
The aid continues. The war goes on. But where there is warmth, there is life. And we will do everything we can to preserve it.
Donetsk Region: A Week Under Fire
Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Mykolaivka
The journey from Dnipro to Donetsk Region was not easy. We delivered humanitarian aid to Kramatorsk and, along the way, brought bread to Dobropillia.
The situation has changed—and unfortunately, not for the better. The roads have worsened, and the war has drawn even closer.
Kramatorsk itself has returned to 2022—explosions echo constantly. They are audible even indoors. People are exhausted, worn down by fear. In one shop, we saw a woman—a cashier—flinch at every distant rumble.
Despite everything, people continue to come to us. Many receive not just food, but also social and psychological support. Because here, bread is not the only necessity—hope is, too.
Kharkiv Region: People, Bread, Hope
Znamenka
Mornings here begin in silence. Then, they fill with the quiet, weary voices of people still clinging to hope.
Alevtyna, 67 years old. Once, she had a home. Now, she has a single room in a village house. Her entire life fits into two bags—the ones she grabbed while fleeing the war. Her pension and government aid are barely enough to survive. But every Wednesday, she receives bread. And it’s not just bread—it’s a reassurance that she hasn’t been forgotten.
“Thank you. And may God grant us all peace,” she says, clutching the loaf as if it’s the most precious thing in the world.
Chuhuiv, Kochetok
People here are accustomed to hardship. Too accustomed.
Nadiya, 72 years old. Silver hair, deep wrinkles, and an exhaustion that even tears cannot wash away. She takes a bag of food and holds it tightly, as if afraid it might disappear.
“Thank you for helping. For remembering people like us.”
Residents of Chuhuiv and Kochetok receive food, but more than that, they receive the reassurance that they are not alone.
Merefa
Halyna Mykolayivna. Her voice trembles as she expresses her gratitude. It is hard to tell whether it is from the cold, exhaustion, or emotion.
“It’s difficult… But how wonderful it is that there are people who help. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kindness.”
Hard times change people. But kindness remains unchanged.
Pervomaiskyi
Winter grips the city in cold. People walk the streets, hunched against the wind, against exhaustion, against a life that has forced them to start over.
This week, aid has reached pensioners, displaced persons, individuals with disabilities, and large families. Bread – such a simple thing, yet now more precious than gold.
“More and more people need help,” they tell us. “Especially now, in the cold. They ask for firewood, medicine, warm clothing…” We listen. We remember. We will find a way to help.
Shevchenkivska Community, Kupiansk District
24 families.
Children, the elderly, those who fled the war, leaving everything behind, now trying to rebuild their lives.
Food, clothing, hygiene products, blankets, bedding. These are not just things – they are the chance to survive another day, another week.
And we are here. We are near.
Derhachi
The bread is distributed quickly. There is enough for everyone, yet the line does not shorten.
Explosions echo in the distance. People do not flinch. They just tuck their loaves into their bags faster.
The lights go out. Water is not always available. But the most important thing remains – there is bread. There is stability.
And for that, they are grateful.
Kharkiv, Kamianka Yaruga, Mala Danylivka
The city seems frozen in anticipation.
The explosions are no longer heard daily, yet the attacks continue. Night belongs to the drones. People are accustomed to waking up to the sound of sirens.
But even here, there is warmth.
Children’s gatherings, meals for those in need, tea evenings. 45 people at a charity dinner. 50 people at gatherings where they can simply talk.
Viacheslav Mykhailovych, 78 years old. He has undergone surgery. He takes his bread and smiles.
“Thank you. For the bread. For life.”
And that is what matters most.
Dnipropetrovsk Region
Nikopol Area. A City on the Frontline
Monday began with anticipation. People knew we were coming.
Our warehouse is a small apartment in a high-rise building. Here, routes are planned, decisions are made, work is done that is invisible to most but vital to those awaiting help.
We distribute clean drinking water – a sip of health in a city where even the simplest things have become a luxury. We provide food directly to those under our care.
But the most important thing – doors are opening. Thanks to our foundation’s lawyers and the coordinated efforts of our entire team, we have been granted the ability to work without unnecessary bureaucracy. No more endless chains of approvals – now decisions are made swiftly, without fear or hesitation. We have gained access to new territories, new communities, and new people in need.
Pryhorodne. A Long-Awaited Route
We are in Pryhorodne – a village just five kilometers from Nikopol. Five kilometers that were previously unreachable due to bureaucratic barriers.
This large village has become a refuge for many. Displaced people from Donbas, Mariupol, and Luhansk have found a new home here, but not safety. For the first time, we are holding a humanitarian reception in this settlement.
The authorities provided us with a space in a modern lyceum, now serving as another aid center.
Our old but reliable vehicle is the only means of transportation while our main van undergoes expensive repairs. It may not be young, but it runs. And most importantly, it allows us to be where we are needed.
Marhanets. A City Under Fire
A new district, Maksymivka. We are here because the previous areas have already been covered. We have been allocated a building that was supposed to open before the war but never had the chance. Now, it is a place where shattered windows are covered with plastic, and walls bear the scars of shrapnel.
The reception takes place to the sound of artillery fire. Drones circle overhead, a constant reminder that peace is a luxury.
The crowd is large. Very large. Most are elderly, disabled individuals. They come because they have nowhere else to go.
Vision is another battle being lost here. Marhanets has long been without an ophthalmologist. People wear glasses they found at the market, unaware that they are worsening their condition. Headaches, high blood pressure, even greater vision loss – this is their daily struggle.
But we keep fighting. 120 people have already received aid through the vision restoration project. And this is just the beginning.
The city is turning into a gray zone. Movement is becoming increasingly dangerous. But we are here. We are working. And we will not stop.
Hope That Gives Strength
Synelnykove. A New Home for New Lives
The number of people seeking refuge grows daily. They arrive with backpacks, suitcases, sometimes just a small cardboard box – all that remains of their former lives. They seek safety, support, solid ground beneath their feet. And we do everything to make that ground a little firmer.
Kryvyi Rih. Roads of Aid
- Kryvyi Rih – Kherson. Delivering generators, wood stoves, warm clothing to those in frontline areas. Where frost bites at night and the ground trembles from explosions by day, even a single stove can mean survival.
- Kryvyi Rih – Mykolaivka. Bringing children’s toys, clothing, and, most importantly, generators and stoves, immediately installed in homes for displaced families. Light, warmth, comfort – what the war tried to take, we are giving back.
- Kryvyi Rih – Radushne. Bread – simple, but priceless. It was awaited, cherished, shared equally among families where every gram of food matters.
- Kryvyi Rih – Vilne. Clothing, shoes, bread… But material aid is not the only thing that saves people. Here, we also provided moral, psychological, and legal support to those starting over.
- Kryvyi Rih – Sofiivka. A shelter for those with no one left to support them. They received bread, but more importantly, human warmth.
Kamianske. An Island of Warmth Amid the Cold of War
✔ Bread distribution – a simple yet crucial gesture of support.
✔ Humanitarian missions between Dnipro, Kamianske, and Kryvyi Rih.
✔ Charity meals – because a full stomach gives the strength to carry on.
✔ Psychological and social programs to help people heal.
✔ A creative hub – because life goes on.
Help is not just about things. It is about care. Support. Humanity that, despite everything, remains stronger than war.
Stories That Remind Us: Help Matters
Olga, 47 years old, Pokrovsk
“My mother’s home was destroyed. My apartment was damaged. We left together—my mother, myself, and my dog. I couldn’t leave him behind. Later, my sister and her husband joined us. Today, we received eyeglasses together—a small but incredibly important thing. Thank you to everyone who doesn’t stand aside. You are doing an incredible job!”
Volodymyr, 76 years old, Sievierodonetsk
“March 2022… My wife and I left our home due to constant shelling. We were evacuated to Dnipro, then to Kamianske, where we now rent an apartment. Our house was looted and destroyed. But life goes on. Thank you to the foundation and sponsors for your care. Thank you for the warm bread. May God grant you health and bring peace soon.”
Help is not just about things. It’s about care. About support. About humanity, which, despite everything, remains stronger than war.