Life goes on. That’s how we want to start this week’s digest. Seedlings are already being actively planted in Ukrainian soil. The amount of rats in Kherson has decreased. The Dnipropetrovsk region keeps impressing everyone with its aid centers. Also, humanitarian aid has been zealously distributed around the Kharkiv region.
Once again Kherson proves there are heroes among us!
This week, the team of the ICF Step with Hope in Kherson had a triple load of residential disinfestation work. People come from different districts of the city having the same problem: lots of mice invading their homes.
We got a call from our friend Oleksiy, whom we had previously crossed paths with in our volunteer activities, and who is also helping Kherson residents. Our first guess was that he had the same need to poison the rodents. But we did not expect what we heard.
He said that his house had been hit by a shell so he could no longer live there. Smashed windows, broken plumbing and gas pipe, and a complete lack of electricity are his only possessions now instead of his home.
He asked us for help with the move, and of course, we could not refuse. We helped him to collect the necessary things, load them into our car, and take them to a new place of his temporary residence.
Oleksiy was very grateful for our help, and several times he remarked that he was astonished by our serious attitude and approach to helping people. He is most impressed by the fact that we are almost the only ones who work with a difficult area, that is the Island, which had been flooded more than other places. “We already feel like home there!” our team jokes in response. So helping Oleksiy was no problem for us at all. The man is happy and thankful. And we are glad to be able to help one more person in a difficult time.
Local channels in Beryslav also write about the ICF Step with Hope
Meanwhile, quite near the city of Kherson, in the Beryslav community of the Kherson region, residents have received free vegetable seedlings. Now the people will be able to grow tomatoes, peppers, and cabbage on their personal plots.
As part of the Seeds for Victory agricultural project, the team of the Step with Hope charitable foundation, with the support of Ukraine TrustChain, delivered seedlings to the locals. Local journalists did not miss this news and covered the event on some websites:
But that was not all the help that the volunteer team of our ICF Step with Hope provided in the Beryslav district. This week we traveled along the following routes: Kryvyi Rih – Beryslav district – Sofiivka – Christoforivka – Valove. People there received food packages and bread. We also delivered all of that aid to the hospitals and the humanitarian aid distribution centers. Then psycho-social trainings were held for the IDPs and victims of war losses, as well as rehabilitation activities for children and teenagers in the city’s children’s institutions.
For those who like statistics, the total weight of the humanitarian cargo was about 3000 kg. We are very happy that with the support of our partners, we have the chance to help people. The residents of Ivanivka, Arkhanhelske, and Andriivka villages, Kherson region, are grateful for the delicious and fresh bread!
Kharkiv region reports: the seedlings have been received and distributed!
Indeed, we have received a lot of thanks for the seedlings from Merefa and other towns of the Kharkiv region. Many thanks from people to the sponsors for their care and help, many wishes of abundant blessings to everyone involved in the agricultural project!
Every time we plan a trip, we have to coordinate the routes with the necessary authorities. This time, there was a force majeure in one of the towns of Kharkiv region. In the morning before our arrival, the city center had been heavily shelled (22 km from the border), which is why we had to urgently change our route and the unloading points. But everything went well, and our team harmoniously worked together to provide support to 500 families. In just one week, we delivered 2,100 sets of seedlings across the region.
Moreover, as you know, we do not only support the towns of the Kharkiv region with humanitarian aid such as bread and food packages, but also we always try to uplift the spirits of Kharkiv residents and the mental health of children and teenagers in the region.
So, this time we held a family holiday and some children’s activities. With the support of Ukraine TrustChain, we distributed bread in the morning, then organized a trip to the park with the youth, and later on in the evening we had a good time playing sports.
In addition to Kharkiv, our trips were made to Mala Danylivka, Dergachi, Novostepanivka and Merefa.
As always, we receive many thanks, which we would like to share with you.
“My name is Oleksandra Vasylivna Novatska. I have three children and a mother. I am immensely grateful to you for your help. In our difficult times, you are helping us a lot with your delicious bread and food parcels.”
We also received words of gratitude from the town of Nova Vodolaha:
“I am Yevdokiia Fisenko, living in the village of Nova Vodolaha. Being disabled and unable to fully serve myself, I need help. Thank you for the weekly assistance that I rely on so much.”
“My name is Borys, I am from Kharkiv. That’s where the war caught me and my family. From the very first days, Kharkiv was bombed with particular cruelty. Nothing was spared. My wife and I moved to the subway and practically lived there for over a month. Then our friends invited us to come and stay with them. My wife and I did not hesitate at all. Both of us are retired. Our children live independently in other cities of Ukraine, so only with the help of volunteers, we made it to Merefa in May 2022. Friends helped us with all the arrangements and housing, and now your help with seeds and seedlings is a great support for us, too. I am grateful to those who organized this initiative and care about the IDPs.”
Latest news from the Donetsk sector
Donetsk region… Kostyantynivka, Druzhkivka… These towns are the closest to Chasiv Yar, where the fiercest fighting is taking place at the moment…
Many people left, but many stayed. Most of them are elderly people who cannot always help themselves and desperately need someone else’s help. This week we distributed 100 loaves of bread, eyeglasses, clothes, and seedlings in the amount of 200 sets. People were very happy and filled with gratefulness. The situation in these towns remains tense and disturbing, but, nevertheless, people are planting seedlings and planning their future. Sloviansk, Mykolaivka, and Kramatorsk also thank us for the agricultural project and the hope we have brought to them.
Nikopol and Marganets are supplied with water
We care, we help, we send some aid by mail, we distribute targeted water, and we operate from our assistance center in all the areas available to us. As you can imagine, the most urgent need in these towns is drinking water. Water distribution from the aid center is always very active. During the week, the ICF Step with Hope has distributed 200 bottles of water, 10 food packages, 8 packages of sweets for children, and 50 T-shirts. A total of 120 people have been reached.
Pavlohrad is working
In Pavlohrad, our Step with Hope ICF team has chosen a mobile way of helping, namely, to provide assistance not only stationary in one place, but to organize trips to where there is a need for our help.
This time, we organized trips from Pavlohrad – Dnipro – Pavlohrad – Ternivka in order to receive, transport, and distribute 600 pieces of humanitarian aid, as in household chemicals, canned food, clothes, and bread.
In total, 436 IDPs, disabled people, and those in need received help.
As usual, we share the feedback:
“My name is Olga. I am a single mother. Your help is so valuable to me. I have two little children and every time I get some help I thank everyone who helps me.”
Synelnykove on fire
Two weeks ago, we wrote about the tragedy that happened in Sinelnykove. A shell hit and seriously damaged several residential buildings. Also, many people were injured. We wrote about the help we provided then.
In total, we assisted 60 people by bringing them lunches and groceries on the day of the shelling, provided 30 houses with foil, and 14 buildings with OSB panels.
Among other things, the assistance center in Synelnykove provides weekly food packages, psychosocial assistance, bread, and hygiene kits for the IDPs and those in need. Also this week, 1200 liters of drinking water were brought in to be sent to the frontline areas.
Kamianske is in touch
The volunteer center in Kamianske works in various directions. The most active and popular activities here include receiving and distributing bread, providing food packages, running a massage and hairdressing salon, and providing free lunches. This week we have also launched a women’s needlework club. The grateful feedback followed immediately:
“I am Marina Samsonovych, a 54-year-old resident of Berdiansk. On February 24, 2022, after the first explosion caused by shelling, I, along with my daughter and my granddaughter packed our things and came to Kamianske to stay with my friends for a while. My parents remained in the city of Berdiansk, and because of this, we have a very difficult long-distance relationship as we can hardly communicate. Now I am helping volunteers on the left bank to weave “kikimori” (military camouflage). I would like to say a big thank you to the sponsors for their significant support and care.”
“I, Vitaliy Oleksandrovych Polonsky, and my wife, Iryna, were evacuated from Avdiivka when the shelling intensified. At first, we moved to Nikopol, then decided to move again because it was uneasy there. We decided to move farther, to Kamianske. So we rented an apartment here, and more or less settled in, but the feeling of loss and uncertainty is always there. That’s why the help with bread is so appropriate. Like any other help, it gives us a sense of support.”
Psycho-social direction and the activities carried out
Motivational meeting in Kryvyi Rih. Speaker: Iryna Zhabrovets
We learnt what mental health is about and studied ways to improve it in times of trouble. We discussed why the All-Ukrainian Program “How are you?” is so timely and necessary today.
Children’s Easter program in one of Dnipro’s shelters. Hosted by Maxim Sotnikov and the team.
We held a wonderful Easter program for children and their parents in a Dnipro shelter. We talked about things that matter and recalled what Easter, or Passover, really is.
Anti-stress English
This program is run by Pavlo Bilan and Natalia Khoroshykh, two coaches and psychologists. They combine English training with approaches that change people’s thinking, help them build a vision and move forward.
“Healing Your Soul Wounds” group
To get rid of physical pain, we take medications or go for surgery. But what can you do to get rid of pain in your soul? 💔 If you are tired of heartache and are ready to remove the “splinter” from your heart, but do not know how to achieve that, we invite you to our “Healing Your Soul Wounds” meeting.
Positive Ukrainian
We learn Ukrainian with creativity. We sing songs, learn tongue twisters, and discuss everyday things and other topics in our mother tongue.
Smile Day or Positive Thinking event, where we analyzed what positive thinking truly is.
😃 Positive thinking is a powerful force that plays an important role in shaping one’s life.
😃 It is not about always being positive; it is about a stable and confident attitude towards life.
😃 Most importantly, it is the ability to control your thoughts and choose the best for yourself!
At Support groups with psychologist Iryna Isakova, we share tips for improving our emotional state.
An inspiring meeting in Novomoskovsk.
Along with Roman Zakharov, we visited a temporary dormitory where several families of IDPs from Sievierodonetsk live. We brought some sweets and hygiene kits. We drank tea with them and talked about overcoming the crisis and rebuilding their lives step by step. There is a hope and desire to continue communication and help in further improvement of their living conditions / gardening / growing their own vegetables.
The working group on the “Healing Your Soul Wounds” training conducted by Zoya Fedorova bore fruit, and many people thanked us with tears in their eyes for the emotions they experienced.
The children’s anti-stress training on art therapy in Kryvyi Rih did not leave anyone who participated in the event indifferent.
