KHERSON
Every day there is shelling in this area, but this fact does not stop our volunteers. There is a lot of work to be done.
Over the past week we have accomplished a lot of useful things, namely: refueled 12 generators to connect the equipment for dehumidification of premises, kept feeding the dog we had already told you about for a week, disinfested 12 premises, including one large basement, disinfested 3 premises, including one bomb shelter, and disinfected 2 large basements more.
As always, we have many interesting stories to share.
Ms. Oksana asked us to help her get rid of fleas. The fleas merely overwhelmed the basement of the apartment building where Oksana’s home is. Our team often encounters these insects in basements, but this case was completely different. In plain English, people were hiding from the shelling in the basement, full of fleas, and there were even children there. Our volunteer Sashko went down to the basement for a little while and immediately got lots of fleas on himself.
We were shocked at how people could be staying there under such conditions. We prepared the mixture and sprayed the entire basement so that those people and their children could stay in a safe bomb shelter without the annoying insects. Mrs. Oksana and all the residents of this house were very grateful to the EO “IBF “Step with Hope” because it was the only bomb shelter in their neighborhood where the locals could take shelter from the shelling:
“Thank you for what you did. We have a flea problem in our house every year. As soon as the summer season begins and fleas appear, we can’t go into the basement adapted to be used as a shelter. Neither the housing office nor the military administration could help us with this. And the volunteers from your foundation did respond and help us. We hope this problem will disappear forever. We want this badly. Thank you all very much.”
This happened in Kherson, but behind the scenes of the big city, in the villages of Zahradivka and Velyka Oleksandrivka, Beryslav district, Kherson region, we brought joy to 120 children by distributing sweets.
AGRO PROJECT
The seeds have been distributed, and the planting material is already in the ground, but we still keep receiving gratitude from everyone who had the opportunity to be touched by this project of our partners Ukraine TrustChain. And here’s one from the Donetsk region.
“Everything grows well and smells so nice. We are taking care of it with our whole family. We are waiting for the harvest of cabbage, peppers, and tomatoes. In the fall, we will send a report on the actual harvest. Your idea of the agro project was so amazing! We are hoping for a wonderful harvest. Thank you for everything you have managed to organize. God help us all.”
THINGS IN THE DONETSK REGION
KRAMATORSK AND SLOVIANSK
A team of 5 people goes to Donbass every week with humanitarian aid. Each person is in charge of a certain town, a certain territory. For example, Ruslan, who is from Bakhmut and now lives in Dnipro, is responsible for Kramatorsk. There is a person who is in charge of Sloviansk and Mykolaivka. There is a person who is in charge of Druzhkivka and Kostiantynivka. There are those responsible for Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad and Dobropole. And there is also a person bound to Novohrodivka, Selydove, and Hirnyk.
This time, we delivered a week’s worth of humanitarian aid: 100 food packages, sweets for children, and bread.
When you cross the border of the Dnipropetrovsk region and enter the Donetsk region, the colors change. Even though it is summer, everything at first sight is in bloom even in the Donetsk region, which is no exception, with its fields of wheat, sunflowers, and other plants. But, at the same time, you can see that the towns and villages you drive through are full of grayness. The gray is everywhere because everything that surrounds you when you arrive is khaki. Cars repainted in khaki, people wearing camouflage – it’s all in khaki color.
Many cities in Donetsk region are under constant shelling. Kostiantynivka has been under constant shelling ever since 2023. These attacks have also become more frequent in Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
People in this region really need help, both humanitarian and psychological.
Sometimes people ask them why they don’t just leave. As simple as that, these people honestly have nowhere to go. These are the people no one is waiting for. These are the people who are not needed by anyone elsewhere. They have nothing but their houses to which they have returned. They value their homes. A house, or a room, or a corner. A corner of their own. And then when they leave, where would they go? What would they do? We are facing multiple huge problems, but the problem is that there are people there who are not needed by anyone else.
That is why they are extremely happy to get the help we provide them. They are delighted with every sign of attention shown to them. It gives them confidence that they have not been abandoned and that someone does remember and care about them.
KOSTIANTYNIVKA AND DRUZHKIVKA
In Kostiantynivka and Druzhkivka, we distributed 100 loaves of bread, soap sets, and gifts for the children. We met with some interesting people. Natalia, despite the shelling, recently gave birth to a daughter. She is currently unemployed, so she is grateful for every kind of help from the EO “IBF “Step with Hope”. Natalia is even more thankful for the moral support and care for her.
KHARKIV REGION
A Thank-you note from Znamenka
“My name is Olha Fedorivna, 63 years old. I live with my husband. We are both pensioners. Before the war, we used to live in Kharkiv. When the war began we were forced to move to the village of Znamianka. We live on our pensions and what we grow in the garden. We are very grateful to the EO “IBF “Step with Hope” for bringing bread to our village. We wish you all health, peace, and a prompt end to the war!”
Gratitude from Chuhuiv and Kochetok
The internally displaced persons, the disabled, the people with several children, the pensioners, the temporarily unemployed, and the low-income families received help here.
“I am Lyudmila Pavlivna, a resident of Vovchansk, I have four children, and am temporarily displaced to this city. Thank you very much for your help in the form of bread! God bless you and keep you healthy and in peace.”
Kharkiv, Kamianna Yaruga, Mala Danylivka
In these settlements, we held a children’s lesson and delivered aid including bread, and humanitarian kits.
A master class on creating soap balls was held for the children and teenagers. Also, a Sunday cleanup was organized.
DNIPROPETROVSK REGION
NIKOPOL
This week, we have installed a cubic water tank and will soon fill it with water. We are currently working on a way to distribute this water to people. And, most importantly, we thank you for your participation in our lives.
During the week, we also provided targeted assistance to the people we had taken under our care and distributed sweets to children.
On Saturday, we visited the village of Tokivske. During the day, we handled 110 people and provided them with much-needed and desired eyeglasses by RestoringVision. In addition, we handed out humanitarian aid to them.
We distributed 200 eyeglasses, 20 food packages, 30 packages of sweets, 5 packages of diapers, and 5 packages of wet wipes. In total, we reached about 170 people in different areas over the past week.
PAVLOHRAD
This week, we also distributed humanitarian aid and received words of gratitude:
“My name is Yana Panasivna. I am from Kramatorsk. We are a family: the four of us came here to escape the war. We thank you sincerely for the bread and other groceries because it is the most necessary thing we cannot do without.”
NOVOMOSKOVSK, HUBYNYKHA
This week, a team of Novomoskovsk volunteers went to the village of Hubynykha, Novomoskovsk district, to distribute eyeglasses. Everyone who received them was very thankful. And that totaled about 300 people. Thanks to our partners at RestoringVision.
KRYVYI RIH
This week, volunteer trips were made along various routes, including:
Kryvyi Rih – Christoforivka – Sofiivka – Radushne.
The purpose was:
– distributing food packages and bread, as well as delivering it to hospitals and the distribution centers of the city and district;
– conducting psychological training for internally displaced persons and victims of war losses;
– organizing activities for the children in the Beryslav district of the Kherson region;
– receiving 100 humanitarian food packages in Dnipro and delivering them to the villages of the Kherson region.
The total weight of the humanitarian aid amounted to about 3500 kg.
KAMIANSKE
“I am Liubov Aleksiivna, 76 years old, a resident of Lysychansk. In 2022, after the shelling, my daughter, son-in-law, granddaughter, and I left our town on evacuation buses for Dnipro and then Kamianske. Our house survived, but it lost its windows. We are renting an apartment and living separately. I want to thank the sponsors for their great support and help.”
The work of the volunteer center in Kamianske was as follows:
– receiving and distributing bread around Kamianske
– delivering bread, food, and humanitarian aid to volunteer centers and distribution points in Kamianske
– transporting of humanitarian aid around Kamianske
– distributing of food packages in the amount of 40 pcs.
“I, Valentyna Petrivna, am 70 years old. I am a resident of Avdiivka, Donetsk region. In 2022, when the occupiers began to approach our town and shelled everything around more frequently, I left my home, which, unfortunately, was completely destroyed, with my son and his family. At present my son works at a factory and thanks to this, we were given a room in a sanatorium by the company. But without the help of the EO “IBF “Step with Hope”, it would have been very challenging for us. Many thanks to the sponsors who help and care for us.”
– Women’s club: “Berehynia” needlework classes
– organization of charity dinners
– “Healing Your Soul Wounds” psycho-social program
– massage room services
– laundry service, and charity haircuts.
