KHERSON
An update on Kherson.
This whole week we have been fighting fleas. Basements, apartments, military facilities, you name it! It is some kind of a scourge. After the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant was blown up, we fought infections and mold, then there was an invasion of rats, and now with the hot weather the city is overrun with fleas. The team of the EO “IBF “Step with Hope” in Kherson was able to respond to the new problem quickly. People are very grateful. A whole line of people signed up to receive help right up to August. We are trying to do everything as quickly and efficiently as possible, but the incredible heat slows down the process. Yet, we keep moving on, from one apartment to another, from one basement to the following one, from one person to the next one.
Due to our carelessness, we happened to bring some fleas into the apartment of our volunteer Valentyn, so we had to solve the same problem in his place as well. We learned our lesson. We do not bring bags with poison inside buildings anymore, so as not to bring the pests into new apartments.
The heat is unbearable. Last week the record for the highest temperature in the last 100 years was broken. It is impossible to work in suits. At times Sashko wrings out his socks with his hands and they are leaking water.
The work done over the past week was as follows:
– 12 generators were refueled;
– A dog was fed during the week;
– 1 person was helped to get his refrigeration equipment repaired. In this heat, it is simply impossible to live without;
– 3 rooms and five large basements were disinfected;
– 18 rooms were deratized, including 3 large basements.
DONETSK REGION
KOSTIANTYNIVKA, DRUZHKIVKA
Druzhkivka keeps suffering water supply problems.
The pumping station was hit by shelling and the town of forty thousand people was left without water. Our humanitarian aid distribution point is also left without water which causes lots of inconvenience, as well as a difficult sanitary and hygienic situation in the area.
But despite that, our volunteers continue their work.
Thanks to our partners Restoring Vision, people in Kostiantynivka and Druzhkivka were provided with ophthalmology consultations and free eyeglasses according to their needs. In Kostiantynivka, 40 people received their new eyeglasses, and in Druzhkivka, 50 people. We also provided assistance with clothing and household items. And in return, we received your feedback!
Mr.Volodymyr, Druzhkivka.When the war started, all the buildings were destroyed. This man cannot find a job now. He has to do odd jobs. Recently, Volodymyr’s eyeglasses fell and broke. Due to the war, optical stores are not working. There is nowhere to get new eyeglasses:
“Dear employees and volunteers of the Step with Hope Foundation! I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your invaluable help in providing glasses. Thank you for your noble cause and for helping people see the world brighter! Best regards, Volodymyr.”
KRAMATORSK, SLOVIANSK
In Kramatorsk, its citizens along with the people from Sloviansk and nearby villages received help at the local distribution point.
The humanitarian aid consisted of food parcels that had been delivered earlier and hygiene kits containing diapers, all of which were distributed to people.
People really need these kits because this is what they are short of. Household chemicals and hygiene kits are a very scarce commodity in the places where we bring them to. They are quite costly which is why, people choose for themselves what is better for them: buying a hygiene kit, which is necessary but not that vital, or buying some food. Of course, food comes first.
Also, the rise in utility prices has worsened the financial state of the people there. A pensioner with a pension of 2000 hryvnias cannot pay for housing worth 4000 hryvnias. That is the reality. The fact that hostilities are going on around us, that the shelling is now getting closer to Kramatorsk, makes it even worse. And this utter sense of tension remains everywhere around the city. At the same time, when people come to get help, to see that they are cared for, and to realize that someone worries about them, they are filled with gratefulness. They are grateful for the help, for the support, for every kind glance of a volunteer, and for the opportunity to be listened to. And these people trust us, they believe that we will truly do everything in our power. That’s exactly what we are trying to do.
KHARKIV REGION
CHUGUIV AND KOCHETOK
In these settlements, the internally displaced persons, the disabled, large families, pensioners, the poor, and the temporarily unemployed received assistance.
“I, Leonid Fedorovich Kurtzov, am a disabled person of group I, born in 1951. I am trying to survive on my pension only which is very difficult. Thank you for not forgetting about us and helping us survive in this time of trial.
Peace be with you and God bless you.”
KUPIANSK
This week we also managed to provide humanitarian aid consisting of food and hygiene kits to the people in the city of Kupiansk. Many are pleased and thankful for the help.
KHARKIV, KAMIANA YARUGA, MALA DANYLIVKA
Several meetings for children and teenagers were held in these settlements during the week. We also helped a pensioner and distributed adult diapers and hygiene kits to the locals.
On Saturday, bread was distributed to the people in need with the support of our partners Ukraine TrustChain.
On Sunday, a trip to the park was organized. We brought materials for children’s activities as well as food and sweets for the kids. Humanitarian aid and clothes were also distributed.
DNIPROPETROVSK REGION
NIKOPOL
We continue working in every reachable direction. We are doing our best to support people living at ground zero.
This period has been marked by the most brutal shelling of our city and region, which took the lives of many citizens. In addition, the funerals of our guys who were killed at the front are taking place all the time in a continuous line. Of course, all of this puts a strain on a person’s psyche and sometimes becomes unbearable.
This week we worked fruitfully in another village. The village of Hrushivka showed great interest in our project. They merely would not let us go away. We had to go there twice to serve all those who wished, that was 220 people. We are planning on going there again to take all the infirm from their homes in all the neighborhoods to see an ophthalmologist. People are delighted.
How does Hrushivka live today?
The village belongs to Kryvyi Rih district. It is quite far from Nikopol. But we did not hesitate to rush to the rescue at the first call and did not regret it even once. We noticed people’s needs and we were happy to lend a helping hand.
The village is located along the road leading to Kryvyi Rih. Before the Kakhovka dam was blown up, it used to be a fairly busy area. There were logistics routes of several directions with trucks moving along them in an endless stream day and night. The village was prosperous, and the highway was the breadwinner for the three thousand locals there. But that is in the past.
Today, the picture is radically different. We did not meet any fellow travelers on the empty road to Hrushivka. Driving into the village, you are amazed at its former glory. The majestic buildings: clubs, shops, huge monuments, and waterworks speak eloquently of the rich past of the collective farms.
It’s hard to believe, but it was here that the world-famous film director Dovzhenko filmed his “Poem about the Sea”. How little do we know about our history!
Which village could boast of having two-story shops with a huge building area? Nowadays, they are empty reminders of the past.
It’s a paradox, but even in today’s realities, people have learned to survive without leaving their homes. In this village, I didn’t see either a line of cows in the pasture or tractors in the fields. Yet, there are practically no fields there. Everything around the place used to be filled with waters of the reservoir, which has become only a memory sprouting with willow thickets.
Returning to the present, it is worth noting that the patient reception was held at the local outpatient clinic, which accepted all those who came in an inexhaustible stream from all over the village and its outskirts.
Lyudmila, a first-group disabled person waited patiently in line for five hours. She was touched by our attention. She was crying and thanking us heartedly. Usually, such people get bitter, but this was not the case with her.
We left, leaving good memories in people’s hearts. And they filled us with the joyful understanding that we can be useful.
We also brought sweets to the delighted local children.
Of course, we did not neglect our Nikopol Humanitarian Center. By distributing water and food, we supported the ones under our care. Over the week, we have distributed 400 pairs of eyeglasses, 1000 liters of water, 20 food packages, and 30 packages of sweets. Over the week, we have reached about 400 people in all directions.
KRYVYI RIH
Several trips were made in Kryvyi Rih district.
The purpose of the trips –was:
– receiving and delivering humanitarian aid;
– conducting psycho-training for the victims from the war zone;
– organizing a rehabilitation camp for children and families of the killed, the missing, and the captured defenders.
The total weight of the transported aid amounted to about 2500 kg.
After returning from the rehabilitation camp, the campers were grateful to the IBF “Step with Hope” for the chance to participate in the project aimed at supporting the children of our defenders from Kryvyi Rih. They honestly confessed they didn’t even want to come back. That is how much they loved the atmosphere and program of the YOUR CAMP camping near Chernivtsi.
New impressions, a different climate (forest and mountains), exciting challenges in different locations, swimming in the pool, making new friends, even new tasty and healthy food prepared in Bukovyna style, and so much more… In short, they had a whole kaleidoscope of positive emotions!
KAMIANSKE
The work of the volunteer center in Kamianske district included the distribution of humanitarian aid, mobile group visits to the site of a missile attack in Dnipro, organization of charity dinners, conducting the psycho-social program called “Healing Your Soul Wounds”, and distribution of clothes and eyeglasses.
“My name is Laura Dmytrivna, I am 60 years old. I am a resident of Kamianske and I came to get some eyeglasses for myself and my mother, who is 86 years old. I’d like to thank the sponsors for the wonderful eyeglasses, without which it is impossible to imagine our lives. Especially the life of elderly people. I wish your whole team health, God’s blessing, and a peaceful sky.”
A summer camp for children is also currently underway in Kamianske. It is called “A Journey to Friendlyland” and gives little adventurers a lot of positive emotions.
DNIPRO CITY
This week, our volunteers from Dnipro took an active part in helping the victims of the missile attack. The IBF “Step with Hope” organized a mobile aid tent, which provided psychological assistance, and showed some care serving people water, tea, coffee, and snacks. The tent was open around the clock, and three teams were taking shifts. The volunteers gained a lot of experience by communicating with the affected people. The people gathered at that location also received a lot of help from us.
