May 11, 2023
50,963 people evacuated from danger to date
194 people evacuated from danger this week
32 trips into the deoccupied and frontline territories
Another ordinary week in the lives of our volunteers, full of hard work and emotional trials. Multiple projects–each crucial in their own way–are happening simultaneously while Ukraine is waiting for the good news from the frontline. One of our teams keeps coming back to the site of terrorist attacks in Uman’. We couldn’t edit her reports, we just translated them and left as is. Others made 32 trips into the deoccupied villages and frontline territories miles away from the Eastern front. In the meantime, tens of thousands of people with their own unique and difficult situations continue to receive efficient help, and all of this is possible thanks to your continued support.
We’ve highlighted a few episodes in the section below. A summary of activity by team can be found at the end of this week’s newsletter.
Ukraine Team Milestones
Demining of Kherson Region - Natalia - Vyshnia Volunteer Center
More than a quarter of Ukraine’s vast territory is currently infested with landmines and unexploded ammunition that Russia fired at the people of Ukraine. Although this challenge will haunt Ukraine for years, UTC teams are already taking steps to help with this problem. Natalia and her team are collaborating with trained specialists involved in demining of civilian areas. Natalia has a visceral understanding of the situation in Kherson region. Her team knows local leaders and activists, understands risks, and has intel on humanitarian situations in each village. Thanks to our support, her team is able to provide fast flexible help, with transportation and general coordination of the process with local residents, which made her a perfect guide and liaison to bring de-mining corps into Kherson villages. Last week she took part in the first expedition. Sappers de-mined a school and started clearing private lots of local residents, who will now be able to plant food. We are excited to start on this new initiative that will not only save innocent lives, but will help revitalize de-occupied villages around Kherson.
Caption reads “Unexploded Shell. Kitchen”
Tetiana’s Team - Dopomoha Poruch
Tetiana returned to Uman’ again... Here is a translation of what she wrote to us:
“This week was very difficult for us, especially mentally. We delivered aid to Uman’ to help people affected by the recent rocket strikes. My team quickly bought the needed necessities, loaded them into two vans and went to Uman’. We transferred aid to the deputy mayor and together with a local authority representative went to a blood transfusion center to visit Natalia who was lucky to survive. Natalia had lived with her parents on the seventh floor of the building that got hit. The rocket heavily damaged their apartment. That night Natalia was fast asleep and she says she did not even hear the air raid siren or the first rocket that landed not far from the apartment building. She woke up from an intense sharp pain and it took her a few minutes to realize what had just happened – she was stuck under the wreckage of the building. Luckily, her parents were not home at the time of the strike. Overcoming fear, pain and tears she crawled to her balcony that, unbeknownst to her, was barely attached to the building. The rescuers rushed to extract her from the balcony. They called her ‘the girl who was carried out with God’s hands.’
When we arrived at the location of the rocket strike I was overcome with horror – a large chunk of the building was simply gone. There was a line of people waiting to get into the building to get what they could from their damaged apartments… They would come in and invariably leave practically empty-handed with the expression of deep hopelessness in their eyes that is hard to put into words. I noticed a man in all black who was standing near the building smoking one cigarette after another. I asked him if he was OK. He looked through me and said: “Fourth floor… My son Vanya, a year and a half old, and my wife… It would have been better if I was with them”. A bit later, a person we knew from Uman’ came and told us about what was happening after the rockets exploded, how people screamed in agony, some trapped under wreckage, some burning, how an entire family was found dead together on the couch after rescuers managed to get the building's panels off of them… He told us that the man in all-black had been urgently called into work that night and that’s why he was still alive. Bodies of his wife and son were the last ones recovered…
After what I saw and heard I thought that hell existed and it was there.”
Tetiana P - delivering aid to Ivanopillya
Tetiana, a volunteer we are honored to support through Oleksandr Davydiuk, delivered 1.5 tons of aid to the very edge of Ukraine-controlled territory - the villages of Ivanopillya, Pleshiivka - mere 10 miles from the front line. 220 people received help. These include 25 Bahmut refugees (8 of them immobile) and 6 orphans still remaining for some reason in the local orphanage.
Inna’s Team - Krok z Nadiyeyu
Update on Agrarian Project: cabbage and pepper seedlings have grown to the right size and are ready to be loaded on trucks. Starting May 11th the first shipments of seedlings will begin starting with the Zaporizhzhya region.
Yuri Sahniuk Delivered Generators for Siversk Hospital and Mobile Laundry
While major cities have adopted and mostly overcome the disruptions of daily lives caused by power outages - access to electricity remains a major problem within frontline cities. Yuri Sahniuk delivered two medium-sized generators to Siversk where this equipment is needed most. One of the generators went to a local hospital. Another one was donated to the city of Siversk to establish a mobile laundry there. People who’ve lived under enemy fire for more than a year haven’t had a chance to wash their clothes due to severe power outages and disruptions to water supply. We hope to send more pictures when the laundry begins working there. So far we made sure the generator that will power the washing machines made it to the right hands in Siversk.
People behind the bullet points.
Our volunteers regularly tell us stories of people they help. At this point, Ukraine Trustchain supports about 40,000 people weekly, and every one of them deals with a painful or stressful situation. We want to share some of these stories to give you an idea of the challenges that millions of Ukrainians face, as well as of the amount of suffering our volunteers witness and process every day. These are some summaries from last week.
Natalia is a narcologist who’s worked in Nikopol all her life. She suffers from acute diabetes symptoms now, yet she asked to help her 14 year old granddaughter who is currently at the hospital.
Anastasia recently became a mother. Volunteers found a crib for the baby and are helping Anastasia with what they can.
Anzhelika was born in Khabarovsk, Russia. She doesn’t have a permit to work in Ukraine, but can’t imagine going back to Russia. Natalia suffers from cancer and severe disability
Natalia is a family business owner in prewar life. She lost both of her sons-in-law in the war and is struggling.
Yuri was recovering from a hip replacement surgery when his home was damaged by a Russian shell.
B is a grandma who takes care of 6 grandchildren. Her daughter suffered severe and permanent mental breakdown after the husband was killed in action.
A couple from Mariupol always cries when they receive aid. Their home in Mariupol was hit by a Russian rocket. The wife’s paralyzed mother died upstairs, while the rest of the family who were hiding in the basement survived.
The list goes on.
Ihor Dobra Sprava (“Good Cause”)
13 trips, 171 people evacuated
Oleksandr’s Volunteer Network
Oleksandr added a new team headed by Pavlo B. working in Zaporizzhya region:
360 food pkg.+460 loaves delivered to Podporozhnyanka village
600 packages + 540 loaves to Bogatyrevo
300 packages + 540 loaves to Novohupodovka
540 loaves and 1080 cans of spam plus oil, flour, sugar salt, cereals to the village of Hryhoryevske
Oleksandr S: 3 tons of aid distributed in Kyiv and Sumy Region
Oleksandr S: Delivered aid to an unnamed rehabilitation center for the wounded.
Vladyslav K: 28 tons of drinking water delivered in Mykolayiv
Sandra S: free meals delivered to 1300 people on Mon, Wed, Fri.
Oksana K: hygienic products for the elderly delivered to Kharkiv
Oleksandr Zh.: 3 art therapy classes for disabled children
Kseniia’s Team - NGO Livyj Bereh
6 roofs restored/installed in Slatyne village near Kharkiv (114 total to date)
Kherson was on lockdown last week due to massive shelling. Olha and Svitlana couldn’t access the warehouse and take humanitarian aid to villages. However, they accomplished one distribution in Kherson.
Karina - We Save Dnipro
There are 78 people currently living in the shelter
23 people evacuated this week
Inna- Krok z Nadiyeyu
Two teams continue distributing aid in the most dangerous cities of Donbas: Kramatorsk, Konstantynivka, Dobropillia, Slovyansk, Druzhkivka
Two trips to Berislav (Kherson region)
Pavlohrad suffered from a massive rocket attack last Monday, our volunteers distributed aid there and in Nikopol to 990 people
300 pairs of glasses distributed in Nikopol
8300 people received aid, 11,000 received bread.
22.3 tons of aid delivered.
Timur’s Team – Timur and Team
50 deliveries of hygiene products and food to people with disabilities
350 packages of hygiene and food to residents of Saltivka, Kharkiv
30 deliveries of diapers and sweets for kids
Pavel’s Team — Touch of Heart and Dawn of Hope
Five rockets hit Mykolayiv last week close to Pavel’s headquarters
2013 families received help in Mykolayiv
Delivered antiseptics, kids medicine, clothing and 100 aid packages to Kharkiv region
Distributed aid in Luch and Myrne in Kherson region.
Distributed seeds in Novomykolayivka, Zeleny Hay, Prybuz’ke and Kalynivka.
Andriy’s Team - BF Pomahaem
65 people (23 kids) are living in the shelter
Andriy’s team accumulated aid and restarted humanitarian aid trips
There were three trips to Kherson region: Muzykivka, Myroliubivka, Kyselivka
723 families received aid packages last week.
Marina – Good Give Ukraine
300 food kits and 72 hygiene kits were received by internally displaced people living in the territory of Piatykhatky and Zhovty Vody.
Marina’s team also continues to provide assistance to the elderly who are under the care of the Piatykhatky City Council's Center for Social Services.
Dina - Vilni Liudy – Vilna Krayina
Distributed aid packages to 960 families at the distribution centers
Mailed 200 packages of aid to small, hard-to-reach towns
Sergiy traveled to Svyatohirsk and delivered 100 packages of food, 61 packages of gifts and sweets for children, and 61 packages of medicine
Bogdan - Vse robymo sami
84 families received food kits directly with the support of Ukraine TrustChain
Bogdan is continuing to run children’s programming to help develop social-emotional skills and a caring environment
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