Currently, care for displaced people is a priority, explained Mark Mullan, who leads the LWF team in Ukraine. "The situation at the front line worsens; every day, hundreds arrive from these areas." LWF, together with local partner Spilna Sprava dla Ljudey, are receiving internally displaced people and providing them with relief goods.
Possible to return home
At the same time, work continues in the residential areas damaged in 2022 at the beginning of the invasion. "We see apartments without windows, doors, and walls. We meet people who have been traumatized," Mullan said. LWF's work goes beyond repairing windows and doors. "We don't just rehabilitate physical spaces; we rehabilitate families. They need more than just a place to stay. They need psychosocial support, income, legal support, etc. We use a holistic, integrated approach when assisting the affected population". Community mobilizers, who are young women from the neighborhood, connect the residents with local authorities and other infrastructure for help.
"We were at home when our apartment was hit," says Iryna Mykolaevna, who lives with her brother and young son in an apartment block in Kharkiv's residential area. The house still shows traces of attacks – holes, black, burned spots, bullet holes, windows are covered with plywood instead of windowpanes. The family lived in a nearby basement for a month and then moved in with relatives until the city had restored electricity, water supply, and heating in the block. "Then LWF came," Iryna says and smiles. "They made it possible for us to return home and stay here."
Thank you for visiting us. Thank you for not forgetting about us.
Ivan PREDOROVICH, resident of Kharkiv
"You are now part of our family," added Ivan Predorovich, who lives in the same building. "I cannot believe where you are coming from. Thank you for visiting us. Thank you for not forgetting about us."
Offering hope
LWF in Kharkiv has started a new project: Transforming nuclear shelters into underground schools. Schools in Eastern Ukraine have been closed since the beginning of the pandemic. "When the pandemic was over, the war started," Mullan said. "Some students have been out of classes since the beginning of 2020, with all its negative effects."
The city opened five metro schools in subway stations only recently, and they can only accommodate a small number of students. LWF plans to open the first school in September when the new school year starts.
