Distribution of seedlings
The agricultural project is in full swing, or rather, its second stage, which is the distribution of seedlings. As you may recall, we started distributing “the seeds of good” in March, but ever since May, we have been actively distributing various seedlings. This week, 550 families were given planting material in different communities, namely, in Magdalynivka, Zhovti Vody, Nikopol, and Barvinkove. Also, families from Vilnohirvsk and Dolynske villages, Pyatikhatki, Dnipropetrovsk oblast, the town of Chuhuiv, the urban village of Kochetok, and Volokhiv Yar village were provided with the planting materials.
We have received words of gratitude and letters of appreciation from the people:
“My name is Halyna, I am 48 years old. I live in Krasnohrad, Kharkiv region. My husband has suffered a stroke. I do not work because it is hard to find a job. I am raising a daughter who is 11 years old. My mother, a pensioner, also lives with us. Thank you very much for such kind help as seedlings. In this troublesome time, families like us really need it. Thank you for your kindness and care.”
“I am Liudmyla Nechada, an IDP from Donbas, now living in Chuhuiv. I have lost my job and therefore my livelihood. Thank you for the much-needed help to people who, just like me, have found themselves in such reduced life circumstances.”
“My name is Olena Kovaleva. I am an IDP from Luhansk. I would also like to thank you so very much for the seedlings and your kind attitude.”
Kherson stories
This week, we have carried several evacuations out from the eastern district of Kherson. This area has been heavily shelled in the recent days. There is no electricity or gas supply in the houses. A person contacted us and asked us to take her disabled father, who needs care, to another city as soon as possible, because the situation is extremely urgent. We did everything in our power to organize his evacuation promptly and we succeeded!
Another incredible story that happened this week connected our team of volunteers from the EO “IBF “Step with Hope” with mister Oleksandr.
He is a resident of the Ostrov neighborhood. After the explosion at the Kakhovka gas station, we helped him drain his house. We did it twice: the first time right after the water came down, and the second time after this winter, as some moisture appeared in the building again. Taking away the dehumidifier, he said that the house was dry and ready to live in. He had even made some repairs and turned the basement into a bomb shelter, so he was completely ready to move back into his house, but he still needed some help.
We asked him what kind of help, and Oleksandr’s answer stunned us. He asked us to help him transport plants and flowers. After this request, we took a closer look at his yard and realized that he loves plants and cares about them deeply. He has an incredible garden, and after the flood, he put a lot of effort into restoring it. The plants he could take out he had taken to another city before the flooding. So now we had to return his “domestic pets” home. To be honest, we were utterly surprised because we know many stories of people abandoning their cats and dogs, but here we had a man who wouldn’t leave his flowers behind!
Of course, we agreed to help and brought the plants home from another city, where they were staying temporarily. The man proudly showed us his garden, telling us how he and his wife had washed the stems of the large trees from the dirt, how they had restored what they could not have taken away, and, also, how many plants had died. But he was glad that he was able to save at least something. It was an incredible story of saving his garden!
Then, suddenly my eyes stopped on a small pond in his yard with fish swimming in it.
So, he told us an even more incredible story of one of his fish, the biggest one, that survived the flood and didn’t get out from its pond elsewhere with the current. When the waters came, it stayed and swam around only within their yard until Oleksandr arrived and caught it, along with several other fish. Then he moved them to a safe place, until the flood waters completely receded, all the mud from the pond was removed, and new clean water was poured into it. Unfortunately, not all the fish survived these changes. Only the one we saw. After all that was done to restore its habitat, this fishy returned home, just like the plants brought home with our help.
Donetsk region reports
This week, those in need in Kostyantynivka received aid in the form of 100 loaves of bread, butter, and eyeglasses.
Humanitarian aid, such as bread and food supply also arrived in Kramatorsk and Sloviansk and was distributed there as well.
“I, Halyna Borysivna Semenova, 64, am a pensioner from Znamianka, Kharkiv region. Every week I receive help from the benevolent fund in the form of bread! Thank you very much for your work! For your help! May God protect you!”
“I am Serova Inna Petrivna, born in 1951. I am a resident of the city of Vovchansk. We have great grief: we came under fire and had to move to the town of Chuguev temporarily. Thank you very much for helping and caring for us, God bless you and peace be with you!”
News from Kharkiv
We delivered humanitarian aid in the form of bread, food, and clothes to the settlements of the region, namely Mala Danylivka, Dergachi, Bogodukhiv, and Novostepanivka.
At the moment Kharkiv is one of the hottest spots in our country. Every day there are multiple explosions.
On Sunday, a terrible thing happened. A fire broke out in the Epicenter construction hypermarket. The smoke from the fire was seen from each part of the city. The volunteers of the “EO “IBF “Step with Hope” team were there to provide psychological support and advice to those who suffered from this terrible event.
Nikopol helps organizations for disabled children
This week, we continued distributing eyeglasses to the Nikopol organization of disabled children called “Live for Real”.
We have been supporting children with disabilities for two years. There are about 70 of them in our town right now. In addition to the bottled water, food, and sweets distributed to them earlier, we organized appointments for family visits to an ophthalmologist. Working with them was not an easy task. But the benefits and response exceeded all our expectations.
We also helped residents of Nikopol and received many unbelievable stories about incredible people:
Hryhorii, a disabled pensioner. He used to be a bank manager. He has vast experience in many issues. A man of rare intelligence. We help him all the time as much as we can. He often ends up in the hospital trying to fight for his only kidney.
Mykhailo Zheprov, an IDP, earns his living by collecting waste paper and being a school guard. We have repeatedly helped him in various ways, such as clothing, shoes, and food for him and his family. He is a remarkably interesting person, a fascinating opponent for long conversations. He is sincerely grateful for our participation in his life.
Inna Karovska, a seriously ill pensioner, could not recover for a long time after the death of her husband. She has been losing the remnants of her health in the fight against daily depression. Her only son, unfortunately, did not become a much-needed support due to his drinking issues. Her meaning in life was taking care of her granddaughter and her young son, Inna’s great-grandson. She devoted herself to raising her great-grandson, combining caring for him with the fight against a serious illness. She was learning to move on. But the sudden death of her granddaughter, who committed suicide as a result of unrequited love, finally broke the once strong person. Today, Inna is trying to raise her 10-year-old great-grandson on her own. She asks God to let him live to his adulthood in the hope of placing him in good hands later on.
Olha Oleinykova, a lonely pensioner, has recently gone through the experience of losing her husband. Although it has been more than a year since he passed away, she has been suffering without ceasing. She painfully recalls the years and events of their life together, considering it the best part of her time in this world.
A little boy, named Yehor, needs more joy in his life. We try to give him pleasant surprises more often, filling his heart with positive emotions.
Pavlohrad
This week, the people of Pavlohrad also received humanitarian aid in the form of household chemicals, clothes, and bread in the amount of 600 pieces. And we received words of gratitude:
“My name is Oksana. I am 39 years old. We have come here with my husband and our four kids from Horlivka. We do like coming to you for the bread, as well as your attention and your care. Thanks a million for your support!”
Novomoskovsk and Mahdalynivka
This week, trips were made to receive, transport, and distribute humanitarian aid, that is food packages in the amount of 120 packages (900 kg), canned food and bread (300 kg), second-hand clothes, eyeglasses, planting material, and some seeds for the IDPs’ collective places of residence, the volunteer center in Cherkaske and the IDPs of Mahdalynivka. We also helped a large family from Mahdalynivka providing them with eyeglasses.
Kryvyi Rih
As usual, this week we went to both Sofiivka and Novoyulivka to distribute food packages and bread.
In Kryvyi Rih, we organized psychological and social pieces of training for internally displaced persons and victims of war losses. In addition, we conducted preventive activities with children in the support and early development center. We have several stories filled with thankfulness to share:
Ivan, 45 years old. He is disabled. He fled the shelling in Beryslav district. He has nowhere to live. He cannot find a permanent job. He works part-time wherever he can. He lives in a night shelter. He is grateful, along with other residents of the institution, for our regular fresh bread delivery every week. For many of them, it is like some kind of a holiday.
Mariana, 40 years old, a displaced person from Kharkiv, having a large family. Due to the constant shelling of the city, they were forced to get out of Kharkiv, leaving all their property behind. Their only financial income is what they receive from the state. They are utterly grateful for the help.
Verkhivtseve, Dnipropetrovsk region
“I am a pensioner, I.V. Losieva. I live alone, life is hard now. The prices are high, and my pension is a pittance! It’s good that it’s warm, because I used to have to spend a lot of money on utilities, apart from the pharmacy. Living is terribly expensive in our days. Today I received a food parcel in Verkhivtseve, I am very pleased and greatly thankful much for your support!”
Kamianske
What have we been doing this week in Kamianske? The following types of assistance have been organized here: bread distribution in Kamianske, the delivery of bread, food and humanitarian aid to the volunteer centers and distribution points of Kamianske for internally displaced persons and people in difficult life circumstances, food packages distribution in the amount of 60 pcs, a Women’s needlework club “Berehynia”, charity dinners, psycho-social program “Healing Your Soul Wounds”, a massage room, and a children’s party.
We have also heard several touching stories that we are going to share with you:
“My name is Alla. I am a 46-year-old native of Donetsk. In 2014, the Russians occupied our city and I moved to Kramatorsk, where I bought an apartment. But the war came there too. We were hiding in the basement of the house and the local authorities demanded that we evacuate the city. Railroad cars were sent to the railway station to evacuate people, and I was supposed to take the train, but something prevented me from doing so. On that very day, on the morning of April 8, 2022, the Kramatorsk railway station was attacked by a missile and about 60 people died on the spot, most of them women and children. But the next day I didn’t hesitate and left the city with my friends for Dnipro and then Kamianske. Here I’m renting an apartment where I live with my three cats that I have taken with me. Thanks to the sponsors I keep living. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone! May God bless you and give you a peaceful sky above your heads!”
“My name is Liudmyla Petrivna, I used to live in Bakhmut with my family: my husband, my son, and my daughter-in-law. The decision to evacuate was not an easy one, as long as the shelling was sporadic and we did not dare to move farther away. Surely, it is not easy to leave everything you have become close to. But during one of the attacks, four shells hit our house and we realized that it was impossible to stay there any longer. We rented a car and left the town leaving all our belongings. We went to our friends in Kamianske because we did not know where else to go. At first, we were staying together, three families in one place. Then we found an apartment and moved out. We are grateful to everyone who shows his care by providing help and support, which primarily restores the emotional state.”
WHAT’S NEW in the psycho-social direction of the EO “IBF “Step with Hope”?
Children’s program in Kamianske
This is a series of programs to heal the hearts of our children. Yulia Ivanova helps kids from traumatized and displaced families to adapt to difficult conditions and helps them feel the love of God that heals wounded children’s hearts.
“Healing Your Soul Wounds”, Kamianske
In Kamianske, we also continue to meet under the “Healing of spiritual wounds” Program. The classes are held every Sunday. The participants of the program are interested in continuing the meetings. They feel comfortable, they like to communicate, they come as if they were family, and learn to share their joys and pain.
Creative club “Berehynia”
This group of people has been visiting our center for a long time. They have completed the “Healing of spiritual wounds” and “Over a cup of tea” programs. Now we are discussing thought-provoking topics while knitting rugs at our meetings.
Family meetings in Kamianske
These are interesting family meetings that help all family members psychologically and emotionally. Conducted by Yulia Ivanova.
Acting for teenagers
Teenagers performed a play called “Common Sense”, based on folk tales.
Conducted by Victoria Eremenko.
Anti-stress English
Our classes are not in vain. Students tell us that their level of language comprehension has significantly improved. Even when visiting a doctor who came from abroad, they could manage without an interpreter. It is very inspiring to see the result of their efforts. The course is taught by Pavlo Bilan and Anton Panasenko.
“Healing Your Soul Wounds”, Kryvyi Rih
In Kryvyi Rih, we also hold meetings on healing the soul, and it is very rewarding and motivating to see that more and more people come to these meetings.
Meeting with teenagers in Kryvyi Rih
We also believe that chaplains and law enforcement officers conducting preventive safety measures for teenagers is an important area for influencing the safe future of children.
“Healing Your Soul Wounds”, Novomoskovsk
In Novomoskovsk, a group for healing the soul is led by Svitlana Kvasha, Natalia Stepanova and Vlad Matyukhin. According to both, the trainers and the group members, their health is improving every day, and hope for a better future brings joy to life.
Basic Health Principles Meeting
In Pavlohrad this week, Yuriy Shelkunov held meetings for internally displaced persons and large families on health. The meeting was held over a cup of tea with homemade cookies. They discussed healthy eating and an active lifestyle.
Children’s Club in Pavlohrad
At the Children’s Club, with the participation of Nadiia Derevianko, they discussed how to take care of their family. The meeting lasted for one hour. In addition to children’s stories, there were also outdoor games, a trampoline, and their favorite coloring books.
This month we were deeply pleased with the family of Mykola and Liudmyla. We have written about them earlier. These people were very closed and unsociable, wearing hoods that they never took off, sometimes watching the meetings from the corridor. Today, they are completely different kids: open, talkative, friendly, their hoods off. And after the children’s party, they were simply delighted. They came up to us and thanked us a lot. We are delighted to see that change in those two!
“Positive Ukrainian” Club
At these wonderful classes in Dnipro, we studied the history of embroidery and learned the wisdom of the Ukrainian people.
Support Group with Irina Isakova
Nothing helps more than being among like-minded people. It gives you support, a share of good advice, and a chance to listen to someone’s experience that may inspire you. Therefore, such meetings are exceptionally useful for mental health and a full and harmonious understanding of one’s inner world.
“Soulful Gatherings” with Iryna Isakova in Dnipro
Every day, drops of excitement, anticipation, or loss fall on us like rain. Living under stress leads to anxiety, insomnia, loss of energy, and health issues. We need to open an umbrella to protect ourselves from the rain and help ourselves.
At the “Under the Umbrella” meeting, we talked about stress, its consequences, and 10 simple rituals that will help reduce stress level in our lives.
Meetings with the chaplain in Dnipro
As always, chaplain Ruslan Sedletsky told many interesting stories from his life, which motivated, relieved stress, and helped is listeners to think things over.
