Emergency programs in Ukraine

EMERGENCY PROGRAMS IN UKRAINE

Window Repair in Slovyansk (Donetsk Oblast) and surrounding areas Restoring a safe and dignified environment for victims of armed conflict

Over 1000 windows repaired in the homes of the Slovyansk region’s most vulnerable residents and in combat‑damaged primary schools.

Objectives of the project: • To replace or repair windows for Slovyansk’s most vulnerable residents as well as replacing windows in primary schools in the region.

• To restore a sense of normalcy in post‑conflict Slovyansk and to enable the displaced to return to their homes.

• To enable communities and government to mitigate the conflict’s destabilizing effects.

Context: After armed conflict erupted in eastern Ukraine in April 2014, Slovyansk quickly became a focal point of the fighting. At the time, Slovyansk experienced the heaviest fighting of any urban area in the region, with a large number of the resident population remaining in the city or vicinity.

Order was restored in Slovyansk in July. According to a report of the Donetsk oblast administration, 169 private homes and 290 apartments were totally destroyed during the fighting, and according to the city administration, 1147 apartments needed repair. Also during the armed conflict, 4 schools and one kindergarten were destroyed.

An on-site assessment conducted by Caritas Ukraine in cooperation with the City Bureau of Housing & Communal Services showed that 1300 vulnerable families (disabled, pensioners, families with many children) had no windows in their homes or apartments.

At the beginning of September 2014, with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Caritas Ukraine launched a project for the restoration of windows for over 4000 residents of Slovyansk and its environs.

Caritas staff organized a reception desk at the city library where residents could inquire about window repair assistance and register their requests.

By February 2015, more than 800 potential beneficiaries were registered in the Caritas system and over 1000 windows were installed.

This early recovery project is supported by USAID/Chemonics with a budget of 240.081 USD. In addition, Caritas Austria provided financial support in the amount of 61.000 EUR for the replacement of windows in kindergartens and other educational establishments in the Slovyansk region.

Olimpiyska Street Lyudmyla and her husband Volodymyr are pensioners. He is a former career soldier, she is a housewife.

All of their five children are adults and live separately. During the armed conflict in Slovyansk their apartment was damaged – the windows were destroyed by an explosion. Thankfully, no one was home at that time – they had temporarily relocated to visit relatives in the Chernihiv region. However, after their return, Lyudmyla and Volodymyr were desperate because they realized that they had no place to live and no money to repair their apartment.

Later, the couple welcomed a woman with two children, refugees from Yenakiyeve (Donetsk region) into their home. Olena’s daughter was 4 1/2 years old and her son Dmytro was only 4 months old, born as a displaced person in his own country.

Volodymyr, Lyudmyla, and Olena with her children are very grateful to Caritas for its help in this very difficult time for them. «We didn’t even expect any assistance since we had already asked everyone we could, but there was no reply. And then something happened, like a sunburst in the middle of a gloomy day – we received a phone call from Caritas and they came to visit us at home. We waited with hope and finally our hopes came true. Now our apartment is warm and dry. This is very important for us because it was difficult to live with children in the conditions we had before. And – what is the most important for us – we realized that we are not alone, that we can count on the support of kind people».

Sadova Street, Seleznivka Before the armed conflict broke out, Oleksandr Petrovych and Lyubov Petrivna were merely neighbors, but the war in eastern Ukraine changed their lives forever.

Oleksandr Petrovych became a widower 11 years ago, almost at the same time his neighbor, Lyubov Petrivna, lost her husband. Before retirement he worked at the local railway station, where he suffered an injury and became handicapped. After his wife’s death, he fell ill. To support him in those trying times, his neighbors collected money and helped Oleksandr Petrovych. Last year, the artillery didn’t spare anyone: his house came under fire and the roof, two walls, and the windows were destroyed.

Lyubov Petrivna’s home also faced considerable damage: the roof was damaged and an explosion nearby broke all of the windows. This, however, was nothing in comparison with the loss of her son.

He was killed by a shell that fell in their garden. Because there were no services available in the war‑torn city, Lyubov Petrivna buried him in her own garden. After Slovyansk was liberated she was able to give her son a proper burial.

This war not only changed their destinies, it also united them. At one point they hid from the shelling together in one cellar, now they live together in one home. They partially restored it with their own savings and also with the help of concerned neighbors. However, the house was left without any windows. Caritas Ukraine offered assistance and installed new windows for them. Now it’s warm and cozy inside, almost nothing there to remind them about the horrors they experienced.

Lyubov Petrivna told us that when the window installation was completed and the workmen left, Oleksandr Petrovych and she embraced and cried because they couldn’t believe that such kindness had visited their home.

Batyuka Street Like so many in eastern Ukraine, the Novikov family has faced many difficulties over the past year.

On May 26, 2014, during one of the first shellings of Slovyansk, 3 shells exploded in their yard and almost all windows in the home were shattered. Though they were home at the time, Tetyana and her five children escaped unharmed. Nonetheless, she still recalls that moment with profound fear and apprehension.

«We were terrified. People were running out of their apartments. The elevators didn’t work and we went downstairs to the cellar. The children were the most frightened – they were crying and didn’t understand what was happening,» recalls Tetyana, mother of Valeria, Ivan, Oleksandra, Natalya, and little Anyuta.

The next day the Novikov family traveled to Izyum, where a local organization helped them with accommodation. Initially, Tetyana and her children lived in a church-owned building; afterwards, a family of 15 invited them to live in their home.

When Ukrainian soldiers liberated Slovyansk in July, Tetyana and her children were among the first to return home. Since the municipal infrastructure hadn’t yet been restored, there was no electricity and they had to carry water from a local well. Later, the general situation improved, but their windows were left shattered and they had no money to install new ones. Autumn came and it started getting colder, the children began to fall ill. At that point, Caritas Ukraine reached out to them to assist the family and install new windows in their apartment. Tetyana and her five children are grateful for such assistance since now it is very warm and cozy in their home and she is not worried about the health of her four daughters and son.

INTERNATIONAL CHARITABLE FOUNDATION «CARITAS UKRAINE» National office in Lviv: Ozarkevycha str. 4, Lviv 79016 +38 (032) 227 47 70 caritas@caritas-ua.org Representative office in Kyiv: Kostyantynivska str. 22/17, office 14, Kyiv 04071 +38 (044) 467 60 80 kyiv@caritas-ua.org

v1