Firewood at the cost of life in Kharkiv region
Do you think life exists 15 kilometers away from the contact line? And if it does, can it be really called “life”?
It was with these thoughts that our volunteers headed to the villages Zolochev, Dovzhyk and Feski, situated in Zolochevsky district, up in the northern part of Kharkiv region.
The everyday shelling, half-empty streets, broken souls, shattered windows, absence of children and the feeling of danger hanging in the air and enveloping all the surroundings like a thick fog… That is not a horror movie script, but a type of life that began here in this area on February 24, 2022.
A total of about 100 families received firewood on this trip. And, as you can imagine, these are families of pensioners, the disabled, and the people who are left in the open air and have nowhere to go to, due to the constant shelling. We tried to meet the demands of the residents of the mentioned territories as much as it was possible and we managed to do it.
We would like you to get to know some these people:
“We are the IDPs from Izium district. Me and my family were under occupation until September. Our house was repeatedly shelled. Only the cellar and the summer kitchen hut partially survived. That is why, right after the liberation of our settlement, we moved to the village of Feski. With the help of our friends, we were able to get a small house to live in rent free, but also with no running water or gas pipeline. Luckily for us, there is an old wood stove in the house, but unfortunately, I’m the only one who has found a job and my wife takes care of the children. Therefore, the money for firewood is sorely lacking. Your Foundation’s help was extremely vital for us! Now we will be able to heat until spring. Many thanks to you from our family. May your kindness be returned to you a hundredfold. We will be praying for you!”
“My name is Maryna. I live with my husband in the village of Feski in the Kharkiv region. When the war started, I was 72 years old and my husband was 74. We had worked all our lives at the local state farm and hospital. Our children have long since become adults and live in other cities separately from us, and since the beginning of the war they rarely come and hardly help us. We have stove heating at home, but, unfortunately, living on two pensions we cannot afford buying fuel materials, and we do not have the physical strength to collect and prepare firewood on our own. My husband is currently recovering from a stroke and can barely move around the room. The whole burden of household chores is lying solely on my shoulders.
Thanks to God and the Foundation, we have received firewood. The help came in timely, and now we can safely go through the heating season in a warm house.”
“My name is Angelina. I live in the village of Feski. The war brought despair and grief to my home as I’ve lost my only son, the breadwinner, who was defending his Motherland. I live in a house with stove heating. I do not have enough money to buy firewood. The help with firewood was exceedingly appropriate. MANY THANKS to the Foundation for your help, may the highest powers protect you, and may the people around you be sincere and reliable.”
Olha Mykhailivna, who is currently in a very difficult situation, told her story:
“On September 9, 2022, I lost my son Vyacheslav in the war. He received a life-threatening combat injury near the village of Zaitseve, Bakhmut district, Donetsk region. In the summer of 2023, I buried my husband Oleksandr. In the fall of the same year, I became seriously ill myself, doctors found a tumor and performed surgery, and right now I am receiving chemotherapy and go on living alone. Since I do not work as I am a pensioner, I have almost no sources of income. I am very grateful for the free quality firewood that will help me stay warm.”
Valentyna Oleksiivna, lives alone in the village of Dovzhyk. She is ill, almost unable to move around. She has no other sources of income except her pension. In November 2022, she lost her son Oleh, who was listed in the register of missing persons after a battle in Pavlivka, Donetsk region. She is genuinely grateful for the firewood.
Larysa Mykhailivna lives in the village of Dovzhyk with her children: Oleh, born in 2005, Maryna, born in 2008, and Roman, born in 2010. She does not work anywhere officially, except for doing some odd jobs for her fellow villagers. Currently, he is ill, namely having problems with her legs. Her eldest son Oleh, unfortunately, does not have a permanent job, yet sometimes he works part-time on a farm. Maryna is a 10th grade student, Roman is an 8th grade pupil at a local school. The family is grateful for the free firewood, as now they will be able to afford to buy more food to keep their children strong and healthy.
Spiritual revival of the cities of Kharkiv, Kamiana Yaruga, Mala Danylivka and Dergachi
It’s so great to be welcomed not only with food supplies and other material help, but also with our programs aimed at restoring the psycho-social state of a person. We held classes with children and teenagers, and after the program, bread was distributed to the people in need with the support of our donors, Ukraine TrustChain. Also, later that day, a movie night was organized for children and adults.
Do you think children and teenagers need to know the basics of first aid in our times of war? Yes, of course! They definitetly do! So, there was a first aid training organized for children and teenagers, where they were taught how to stop bleeding and act accurately during shelling. Providing knowledge that can help save lives is the highest goal that we are trying to achieve step by step.
Firewood in Kherson region
Also this week, our volunteers delivered firewood to the settlements of the frontline right bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson region. These are some of the villages that suffer the most from daily shelling and lack of basic resources. There is no electricity, nor gas or water supply any more.
This week we visited the village of Novi Kairy.
There are about 100 households in Novi Kairy. The situation there, as well as on the entire right bank of the mentioned territory, is truly severe. Until the left bank is liberated, things will remain the same. People struggle to live without water, without electricity, without gas, and without all of their basic needs covered. The water has to be delivered; the heating materials are to be brought from far away. Local vehicles that are anything bigger than passenger cars, are all destroyed. Regular cars are also damaged and broken.
The people were incredibly grateful for the help with firewood, as they had had no idea of how to survive until the end of the heating season. This year the winter is eminently loyal. Nevertheless, it is not easy to avoid the need of heating the house as it is still cold enough.
Kherson, the Hero City
It seems to be no secret that Kherson is suffering under constant shelling. Residential neighborhoods, hospitals, schools and critical infrastructure are constantly under attack. One of the main activities of the Step with Hope Charitable Foundation in Kherson is to provide people with electricity and heating while our electricians are repairing damaged substations and power lines. So we equip people with generators and provide them with the proper fuel for them. The generators allow everyone to stay warm, which is the most important part. Moreover, they also secure people’s the possibility of staying in touch.
On February 24, there was heavy shelling in the morning of… And we received another message that said that in one of the districts of Kherson there was no water, no heating, and no electricity. We had to help… We simply cannot leave people in the cold alone with their problems, so we try to do everything we can. The generators were ready to go, the canisters were filled, which meant that people would have light, heating and mobile communication! The thing that matters most to us is being there when people are in trouble. Bringing hope and being there for people is our team’s biggest goal in Kherson.
Disappearing Beryslav, shrouded in care
Our regular route is Kryvyi Rih – Beryslav, Kherson Oblast – Kryvyi Rih. The townsmen of Beryslav suffer from a lack of bread, firewood, flashlights, gas stoves and cylinders. Our volunteers are happy to deliver all of that to the residents of the city. The total weight of the humanitarian aid amounted to about 1000 kg this time.
In addition, the volunteers managed to evacuate one more family from the town of Beryslav, the town that is unfortunately disappearing…
It was a family that had survived the occupation and held out under constant shelling until the end, continuing to serve the needs of their neighbors and support their neighbors. The constant danger 24/7, the lack of electricity and other basic utilities for over two years forced them to move to a completely unfamiliar place. It was an extremely tough decision to make. As you can imagine, they could only take very few of their hard-earned belongings with them, namely things that could fit into a minibus. In addition to all the difficulties they have experienced, it should be mentioned here, that the family consists of two elderly ladies in their 80s (the grandmothers), a man with a sick wife and their 34-year-old daughter with a severe disability. The latter’s life is completely dependent on her two unemployed parents of pre-retirement age.
Surely, they all face a foggy future. The helpless women depend on one man who has been extremely exhausted over the past two years, both physically and emotionally.
Diverse Donetsk region: Konstantynivka, Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk, Slavyansk, Selidovo
We always go to these cities with the aim of feeding people, distributing bread, handing them out eyeglasses, and cheering them up. Unfortunately, the situation in these places is very tense. This time we planned to get from Selidovo some internally displaced people’s personal belongings and documents and we were doing it to the sound of cannonades, which was very disturbing. But everything went well.
Here’s a woman, named Oksana, whom we would like you to hear from:
“I am a 58-year-old resident of the village of Druzhkivka, Donetsk region. On April 9, 2022, the evacuation of the villagers was announced, as the shops and the factories had ceased functioning. I came to Kamianske with my husband, but in September 2022 he died and I had to take him back to my hometown to bury him. When I arrived back in Kamianske, standing at the bus stop with one bag in my hands and not knowing where to go, a woman approached me and offered me a place to stay for the night. But I ended up staying at her home until now. I am deeply grateful to the sponsors for the bread! It is a great support for us in these burdensome times! May God keep you all healthy and blessed.”
Difficulties of Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region
Life in Nikopol is extraordinarily arduous. Every day we hear disappointing news from this town. There’s constant shelling, devastation, and news of the casualties. Every day we see heartbreaking pictures that make our blood run cold and despair get a hold on us with a deadly grip as soon as we wake up in the morning. Many trucks, damaged and blown up, are stuck on the roads. Shells are deliberately aimed at them falling from above so that the vehicles could not be restored. But the worst thing is that there are always people in the vehicles, and they die. Given these horrors, the people in Nikopol need special help and support. Recently, our volunteers have been trying to pay more attention to young families with children. There are very few of them left in Nikopol and they are particularly vulnerable today. But they still are our future.
Grateful Pavlohrad
There were 600 loaves of bread, as well as firewood, clothes, and hygiene products distributed among 497 internally displaced persons who accept any help thankfully. This time, the heroes of our trip were an IDP family from Kramatorsk.
Both, Olga and her husband, are pensioners from Kramatorsk that are renting a house in Pavlohrad. This winter was not easy for them, as they had nothing to heat the house with and had been fined several times for cutting firewood in the green plantations. But the situation would not change: they kept suffering from the lack of heating and shortage of money, so in the end they both got sick with pneumonia. At first, we started bringing them old and worn-out rags to light the stove with. We also helped them get proper treatment. Currently, we are helping to prepare documents for their traveling abroad and have found them a place for a more comfortable stay. Olga is attending group sessions for the treatment of emotional wounds and every day she strengthens her hope for a better future.
Thankful Sinelnikovo
Oleg Zakharovych, a disabled pensioner:
“I have already received the bread help from you many times and I am truly grateful to God for your indifference to us, who are now happy to get any little piece of help.”
Hardworking Kamianske
The work of the volunteer center in Kamianske is very inspiring. Thanks to the extremely energetic and enthusiastic volunteers in the area, we manage to accomplish a lot of things here. Those include:
– receiving and distributing bread;
– delivering bread, food supplies, and humanitarian aid to various volunteer centers and distribution spots of Kamianske that deal with internally displaced persons and people in difficult life circumstances; delivering the same kind of help to the hospital and distributing it among the IDP volunteers;
– food packages distributing;
– organizing charity dinners;
– organizing groups of comprehensive psychological and social assistance;
– having a massage room functioning;
– selecting and distributing eyeglasses for the local population and internally displaced persons in Petrykivka;
– organizing charity haircuts for internally displaced persons and people in difficult life circumstances.
Damaged Dnipro
The centers for IDPs in Dnipro are doing a great amount of work every week. More and more people are receiving our humanitarian, psychological and social assistance.
On the night of February 23, 2024, the enemy drones attacked this city and destroyed several apartments in a multi-storey building. Two people were killed. People from 30 apartments found themselves on the street as a result of the partial destruction of the building and the cut-off of its utility systems.
It is at such moments that people need help the most. The help that is expressed through both material and psychological support. The Foundation’s team arrived at the scene as soon as possible and helped those affected.
Thus, 8200 people have been served and 9500 people have received free bread this week. In total, we have distributed 22.000 kg of food.
