September 26th, 2024
64,726 people evacuated from danger to date
161 people evacuated from danger this week
48 trips into deoccupied and frontline territories this week
We are incredibly grateful for every dollar you continue to donate to Ukrainian volunteers through us. At one of our social events last week, one of our board members was asked whether this work is like “boxing with a punching bag –” that is an exercise with no end in sight. We have to acknowledge there is truth to this comparison. Our process has been practiced and perfected to the point where we can perform it every week, regardless of fatigue or the pressures of our everyday lives. But we all remember an important difference between the work done by UTC and hitting a punching bag – every dollar we collect still goes to evacuate a person who would otherwise remain in danger, to feed somebody who would otherwise go hungry, to deliver drinkable water to people who would otherwise risk their health by drinking from a polluted source. We thank all of you who continue to see meaning in this work, and who support us after almost three years of unrelenting efforts.
Stories
Deteriorating Situation Near Pokrovsk
In the last week, towns around Porkovsk that used to be considered safe are being bombed nonstop. The military administration is nervous and has restricted access for volunteer teams. Both Anastasia’s and Inna’s group reported problems trying to get through the checkpoints, but nonetheless made it to people awaiting help.
Anastasia delivered 342 packages to towns near Pokrovsk. 42 children still remain there. The towns have no electricity or gas. Only one well of drinking water serves all three towns and there is only one generator. People pump and hand out the water for three hours a day to the never stopping soundtrack of Russian shelling.
Dobra sprava has continued to evacuate people from this area as well. One of the evacuees couldn’t leave sooner because his wife was terminally ill and bedridden. The man had buried his wife just the previous day and immediately started packing to leave. Since none of the usual burial services or cemeteries remain, he dug a grave in his yard. Hours before this man was picked up, his wife’s grave was hit with an explosive when a shell landed in his yard.
We are in awe of the volunteers who continue to go into the most dangerous areas despite the physical risks and the psychological toll of these trips. They tell us that they feel the support of their Western donors, which helps them to carry on.
Preparing for Firewood Distribution
Last week three of our largest teams met with the Ukraine TrustChain board members to discuss plans for firewood distributions for the upcoming winter. With the rolling blackouts across Ukraine and rumors of further large-scale attacks on Ukraine’s power plants, UTC is again preparing again for large-scale distributions to thousands of families in frontline regions. Our teams are finalizing meticulous plans to ensure the most effective and safe deliveries.
Hundreds of details must be taken into consideration. Some of the major transportation routes used last winter have now been cut by Russian artillery, so alternative routes need to be verified. It takes patience to find transportation partners who are willing to risk their vehicles, and drivers who are willing to risk their lives to deliver the precious firewood to impoverished strangers. Yet most of the key logistic challenges have been overcome. We thank everyone contributing to Ukraine TrustChain who have made such meaningful large scale projects possible.
Rebuilding Roofs in Kherson
When Russia attacked Vovchans’k in May 2024, shells started landing in Slatyne and other villages where Kseniia’s team was rebuilding roofs. The repairs had to be put on hold. This was a tragic interruption. A few weeks later, however, UTC leadership visited Ukraine and, together with Kseniia went to the villages near Kherson, where Pavel and Olena’s team was already working. These villages were further away from the Russian cannons, but had been thoroughly destroyed during the occupation in 2022.
Our teams discussed the situation and agreed to shift resources to the Kherson Region. Last week they reported the results of their work. 22 houses in the villages of Novohyrhorivka and Prybuzke received new roofs. Our cost per home was also lower in this area, because UTC only needed to sponsor lumber for the roofs, with other roofing materials provided by the government. Some of the labor was also provided by other volunteer organizations working in the area not affiliated with Ukraine TrustChain, such American Baptist and Mennonite volunteers living in one of the villages.
Help in Occupied Territories
100 packages were distributed in two occupied towns and seven people were evacuated from the Russian-occupied left bank. Sometimes the stories are still shocking. Valentyn (not his real name) is a disabled man who can't walk, and can only sometimes sit. All this time he's lived alone in his occupied left bank village, refusing to leave, because he didn't want to be a burden. For months he was confined to one room in his house, because the rest of the house was infested with snakes and mice. It took a great deal of persuasion by Valentyn's cousin, as well as a video from his young relatives, to finally convince him to leave.
Team Summaries
Alina’s Team – Dobra sprava (Good Deeds)
18 trips and 149 people evacuated.
Inna’s Team – Krok z nadiyeyu (Step with Hope)
21.5 tons of aid delivered to 8,350 people in 33 towns of Ukraine.
Additionally 6,000 people received bread.
Disinfected 8 buildings in Kherson.
Despite military restrictions, the teams again made it to Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Druzhkivka and Kostyantynivka.
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Oleksandr S (Boyarka): brought 2,800 kg of aid to Kurakhove, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Shyroke, and Pokrovsk. Provided hygiene products and groceries to 34 people with disabilities in the Chernihiv Region.
Vladyslav K (Mykolaiv): delivered 35 tons of drinking water to Mykolaiv and 14 tons to Kherson.
Andiy P (Mykolaiv): brought 18 tons of mattresses, clothes, shoes, bedding, canned goods, cookies, toys, household appliances, washing machines, and bicycles from Chernivtsi to Zaporizhzhia. The mattresses are for the Vitocenter hospital in Zaporizhzhia, which is opening a new department.
Sandra S (Odesa): kitchen fed more than 1,000 people.
Vitaliy Z (Kharkiv): delivered 4 tons of humanitarian kits, clothing, medicines, and animal feed to Selyshche Zhovtnevyy, near Kramatorsk. This settlement has suffered a lot of shelling, but hasn’t received any aid from Kramatorsk in two years. Delivered 2 tons of aid near Borova (Kharkiv Region). Evacuated a man and his animals under artillery fire, from the Kup’yans’k District to the Kharkiv Region, after waiting 2 hours for the cluster bombardment to end.
Oleksandr D (Lutsk): Oleksandr’s partner in Germany, Benjamin, brought 1 ton of muesli and cereals, honey, medicines, equipment for the disabled, clothes, and furniture for internally displaced (IDP)s and disabled people to Kremenets (Ternopil Region). Part of the cargo was then taken to Irpin (Kyiv Region).
Oksana K (Lutsk): Bought boots and sent a 30 kg parcel of food to an area near Sumy. Sent a 25 kg parcel with food and hygiene products to a large family. Sent 15 kg of medicine to an area near Kharkiv.
Oleksandr Z (Lutsk): provided therapeutic interventions and aid for IDP children and adults, children with disabilities, and children from military families and from large families.
Held 3 art therapy sessions, working with a total of 67 children.
Visited the theater with 56 families who have disabled children and, another time, with 74 IDPs.
Helped 230 IDPs and 60 children and young adult students with bread and other food.
Provided 72 physical therapy and wellness sessions for IDPs, as well as other persons suffering from stress.
Karina’s Team — My ryatuyemo Ukrayinu (We Save Ukraine)
153 people in the shelter.
Tetiana’s Team — Dopomoha poruch (Help Is Near)
Delivered 200 aid packages to Sadove, Kherson Region.
Timur’s Team — Komanda Teymura Alyeva (Timur Alyev’s Team)
Evacuated 18 people this week from Kivsharivka, Kup’ians’k and Novoosynove.
Delivered 158 aid packages to Kyrylivka over two separate trips.
Brought 120 packages to Cherkaski Tyshky.
Pavel and Olena’s Teams — Dotyk sertsya (Touch of Heart) & Svitanok mriy (Dawn of Dreams)
3 tons of water delivered to Novopavlivka and Novohryhorivka.
22 roofs repaired in Prybuzke and Novohryhorivka.
Pomahaem Foundation (We Help Foundation)
24.5 tons of water delivered to Nikopol residents.
356 families received aid in Druzhkivka (Donbas), Mar'ivka near Zaporizhzhia, and Kamianske.
4 additional trips to Donbas to conduct 145 vetting interviews for cash aid recipients from GFFO and Mercy Corps.
Marina’s Team — Daruy dobro Ukrayina (Give Good Ukraine)
130 food and hygiene packages were given to internally displaced families in Piatyhatky.
21 packages for families with many children were sent to different parts of Ukraine.
Dina’s Team — Vilʹni lyudy, vilʹna krayina (Free People, Free Country)
Distributed 365 packages in Poltava, Kanev, and Kremenchuk.
Bohdan’s Team — Vse robymo sami (We Do Everything Ourselves)
42 families received food and hygiene kits in Zhytomyr.
Children at a club for kids with disabilities participated in psychological relief games and learned how to make a banana cake.
Alena’s Team — Diva (Virgo)
Traveled to Shyroka Balka to deliver 250 packages of food, 250 packages of hygienic products, and 250 loaves of bread, as well as clothes and shoes donated in Odesa.
Liza and Katia, who specialize in helping the wounded in Odesa, provided medication for 20 wounded in Odesa hospitals. Their team helps with needs not covered by government sanctioned treatments.
Anastasia’s Team – LoveUA
Delivered 342 packages of food and 342 packages of hygiene products to 3 small towns near Pokrovsk.
How to Help
Donate — The money goes directly to teams providing aid on the ground, who respond dynamically to the most urgent needs.
Fundraise — Organize fundraisers at your school, work, place of worship, with friends and family, etc.
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Fill out this form if you’re interested in volunteering with us, and we’ll let you know when opportunities come up.
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