February 2, 2023
48,639 people evacuated from danger to date
19 people evacuated from danger this week
17 trips into the deoccupied and frontline territories
Week after week we post various images of the war, not all of them manage to convey the simple point that there is a whole infinitely precious and complicated human life behind every picture and every package. Some pictures however break through and often to our surprise get reshared thousands of times. This happened to this photograph from Timur’s trip last week. Our community zeroed in on these little heroes and fighting off the usual mob of pro-Russian Internet trolls, left moving comments in support of Ukraine in many languages. We appreciate your engagement with our content. Your reactions, comments and shares are crucial supporting Ukrainian volunteers - as that’s our primary way of finding supporters. Please send us notes letting us know which content you find most impactful, what questions you or your friends might be interested in.
Ukraine Team Milestones
Marina’s Team - Give Good Ukraine
Marina's team distributed household items and warm blankets along with food this week in their centers. They also started to accept donations of Ukrainian books for Karlovy Vary, that Czech volunteers there collect for their libraries.
Marina's team delivered aid to the village Myrne and to the Lykhivska territorial community. This is how Marina described that trip:
For the first time, we started giving aid late, but we did not hear any complaints. On the contrary, internally displaced people helped us, unloaded the car themselves, and then also helped with packing and distributing. The electricity was out before half the sets had been given out, and no one even paid attention to such a minor detail. At first, people shined their lights on us with their phones, and then a man who lives in the center brought his small flashlight. For us, it was not just a device that shined; it was the amazing thing that every person is born with, but not everyone uses it. It was love and care for others. Today they were concerned about us, and it is very touching to the bottom of our souls, for this we wish to say a very, very sincere thank you!. A low bow to everyone for this incredible day! Our unity is our strength!
Alena’s Team - Virgo Volunteer Center
This week Alena established two more invincibility points in the villages of Vavylove and Shmidtove, bringing generators and distributing food and aid to the locals.
This was not an easy feat. There are no roads leading into these small towns; the vans travel along uneven dirt paths riddled with gaping potholes. There is a risk of hitting a mine as well. Alena’s car hit a large pothole and barely made it back requiring major repairs. One of the villages’ residents said that another group brought some firewood for them and promised to return. Later they called and said they had dropped off the firewood at a neighboring town 15 km away, leaving elderly residents of the village to figure out how to get this firewood on their own.
Pavel’s Team - Dotyk Serdtsia (Touch of Heart) and Svitanok Mriy (Dawn of Hope)
Last week Pavel’s team distributed food to 5,040 people in the city of Mykolayiv and the villages of Novomykolayivka, Myrne, and Luch. They also delivered drinking water to the villages of Myrne and Luch, and distributed water filters there.
Pavel’s transportation continued to focus on moving humanitarian aid they are able to purchase and receive from international charities. 4 tons of hygienic products, clothing and food were brought to Mykoayiv. They also managed to deliver 22 tons of food to refugee centers, homeless shelters and other places where food is distributed. 7 more organizations each received 5 tons of aid - three hospitals, three boarding schools (for children with difficult domestic situations), and a hospice.
Meanwhile, Pavel’s headquarters in Mykolayiv continued to support families focusing on child services, including psychological help and consultations, gifts, and clothing. 10 children received notebooks through a grant Elena and Pavel applied for 2 months ago.
Kseniia’s Team - NGO Livyj Bereh
Livyj Bereh continued restoration of roofs in the village of Derhachi in the Kharkiv region, completing repairs of 11 more homes. The count by the end of the week stood at 44 roofs.
Kseniia headed back to the Kherson region to the village of Oleksandrivka, where Livyj Bereh is expanding their roof repair work. As part of their prospecting earlier they learned that the village does not have sufficient supply of firewood. UTC sponsored a 40 ton delivery of firewood to the village that should last through the winter. The first truck arrived when Kseniia was in the village and the other truck will be arriving next week.
In the meantime Svetlana’s team from Kherson delivered 330 family packages to five villages in the Kherson region (Fedorivka, Shchaslyve, Lymantsi, Poniativka, Orlove).
Slava’s Team — E Volunteer
Last week Slava returned to Siversk bringing in 170 food packages and essential medicine to the families still living in the highrise basements across the city. The road was emotionally difficult. Due to the recent advances of the aggressor’s armies, there is only one road remaining that is not in the direct line of sight of the enemy artillery. After making it into the city, Slava was hoping to see a better situation on the other side of town he didn’t visit last time, but unfortunately the picture there was even more bleak with Siversk having mostly turned into a postapocalyptic ghost town.
Dina - Vilny Lyudi - Vylna Kraina
All trips to the deoccupied territories are difficult. Roads are rough and dangerous, but some trips are especially hard. As Serhiy T was making his way to Lyman to deliver more potbelly stoves last week, one of the vans in the caravan broke down. Serhiy had to go back to Kharkiv and return with a tow truck. But the very next day the team went back and got the aid to its intended destination.
Meanwhile, at the other points of aid distribution, Vilny Lyudi - Vylna Kraina handed out 581 packages of food, as well as diapers for kids and adults, medicine, hygienic products, clothes, and toys. 394 packages were mailed to deoccupied territories where the stores do not carry all of the necessities.
In Kremenchuk, the art therapy group held its meeting for the displaced children living there. Separately, Dina also helped Darya in Dnipro with resources to deliver aid to 47 people with disabilities.
Inna Kampen - Krok z Nadiyeyu
Inna’s intrepid organization delivered 20 more tons of aid and 5,000 loaves of bread to 13,260 people in dozens of locations. 600 kg of bread were delivered to the village of Velyka Novosilka in the Donetsk region. This formerly thriving village once with a population of 5,000 now has only about 100 people left; they live in two places – in the basement of the local semi-destroyed school, and the basement of the local fire station. Even though most of the buildings have been turned into empty boxes, the bombardment started again when the volunteers were there. Inna’s team also delivered aid into two more cities under fire: Druzhkovka and Slovyansk.
Two more trips were organized to the battered Eastern part of the Kherson region to Berislav and Davydiv Brid, as well as to Nikopol further up the Dnipro River. Volunteers commented that after the occupation, local residents seem almost resigned to their situation, seemingly ignoring the danger from incoming shells that continue to hammer the town along the bank.
Aid was delivered to 14 locations in the Kharkiv region, including to the deoccupied city of Balakliya.
Natasha - Vysnia Volunteer Center
Natasha is relentlessly preparing for another trip East. In the meantime she visited her friends from the military that have returned on rotation from Bakhmut. In addition to the funding we provide for aid delivery, Natalia also applies for grants and receives in kind donations from people that follow her work. She packed blankets, sleeping bags, thermal underwear, coffee, and other often missing but important items the troops need as they recover and prepare to return to the battlefield.
Timur – Timur and Team
Two days ago, Kharkiv was pounded by Russian missiles. Timur’s team is safe, but one of his team members may not be able to go back to their home which was hit in the attack.
Timur and team delivered 600 bags to Kivsharivka and another 160 to Kupiansk Uzloviy. They are replenishing their supplies and placed orders for thousands of hygiene sets that they will distribute in upcoming weeks.
Oleksandr D’s Network of Volunteer Teams
Oleksii H delivered 27 tons of firewood to the villages around Kherson Posad-Pokrovsk, Novohryhorivka, Myrne (“Peaceful Village”). This should be enough for 100 families to keep their homes warm for a month.
Oleksandr S’ volunteers in Boyarka donated an ambulance from Slovakia to the city council of Vyshneve, near Kyiv. The team sent food to the reception center for forced migrants in the village of Brestovo and the city of Skvira and provided assistance to victims of military aggression in the Chernihiv Region. Team members are also replacing the boiler and winterizing the house of a large family whose home was damaged by shelling.
Sandra S’ kitchen in Odesa with assistance from Yury S from Vinnytsia has fed more than 2,000 people this week, many of them evacuees from Kherson, Mykolaiv and other cities, who regularly arrive in Odesa. 3-4 of these meals were served specifically to bed-bound refugees. In some cases the kitchen is a vital link for evacuees who have no other immediate source of support. Sandra’s team also sometimes gathers clothes and other aid for these families.
Oksana K’s team from Lutsk delivered aid to the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk Region, as well as to a young family in the Kyiv Region village of Zazymie, which takes care of approximately 9,000 displaced people in Bucha and Irpin.
Our volunteers providing aid to an undisclosed occupied territory managed to distribute 220 food packages containing rice, onions, bread, buckwheat, wheat and cereals. The situation here is becoming more and more difficult for many residents since the city is completely without power and even medicine. There is practically no work.
Vladyslav K’s team delivered 24 tons of water to Mykolaiv. Andryi P delivered the army vehicles from Germany with supplies for teams in Kharkiv and Dnipro, including four generators, seven folding beds, bed linen, sleeping bags and blankets, clothing and shoes, children’s gifts, auto parts, adult diapers and gel cell batteries. Oleksandr Z’s "Star of Hope" in Lutsk continued providing art therapy for children with disabilities, immigrants and large families and also donated backpacks, T-shirts, sports jackets and pants for 35 children. 70 people were also provided with glasses and sunglasses.
Nazarii P’s team in Kherson delivered 31 wood stoves, 30 blankets, as well as 10 tons of diapers, hygiene items, clothes, burners, water and shoes to residents of Kherson and surrounding villages. His center served 463 low income residents, pensioners, and people with disabilities. Oleksiy H delivered a month’s worth of fuel briquettes to the Kherson villages of Posad-Pokrovske, Myrne, and Novogrigorivka.
Andriy - BF Pomahaem
After the winter holidays Andriy’s team resumed almost daily expeditions to various communities in the Dnipro region providing help to families with kids. In the turmoil following terrorist attacks two weeks ago, we did not report on these trips, but since January 13th, 2,500 families or about 8,000 people received help in 8 communities. Large aid packages were provided by SOS Children’s Villages- Ukraine, while Ukraine TrustChain supported hygienic products and transportation expenses for these trips.
Andriy’s shelters continue to support 91 people. His warehouse receives and distributes hundreds of packages daily to internally displaced persons.
Karina’s Team - We Save Dnipro
Karina is sick with a fever this week, but her team evacuated 19 people from Kurahovo and Konstantinovka. The two towns are likely to become the next targets in the Russian offensive, triggering desperate evacuations, which have otherwise become increasingly rare.
Тhere are 92 people currently in the shelter in Dnipro – 31 of them are children.
Tetiana’s Team - Dopomoha Poruch
This week Tetiana’s team distributed aid to 58 internally displaced families in Smila. The team also distributed 50 packages to single elderly residents and people with disabilities through Smila’s social services department. She and the volunteers brought packages to homes of 5 internally displaced individuals with disabilities who were not able to come and receive aid on their own. Finally, Tetiana delivered supplies to the warming center in Mikhailivka near Smila.
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