TEMPORARY BECOMES PERMANENT
Stories of humanitarian aid recipients from ShelterBox.
- “We think that we are bringing victory a bit closer. This is our contribution, since we cannot… Well, some can, those who cannot be with weapons. This is how everyone is trying to bring the time closer when we can return home. Because most of us are internally displaced persons (IDPs).”
Olena from Kharkiv. She has been living in Stryi with her family as an IDP since March 2022.
- “Well, it’s partially destroyed, indeed (referring to her housing in Kharkiv). The heating system is destroyed, and there is no water supply. But physically, it’s more or less intact. Well, for now,” says the woman about her home in her native city.
When moving to Stryi with her daughter, husband, and mother, the biggest issue was sleeping arrangements.
- “My daughter slept for six months on a camping mat on the floor in a corner… it wasn’t even in the room, it was just a small corner partitioned off for a closet. And she slept there because she said, ‘I can’t stay in the same room with you, I need at least a little bit of free space.’ And she found it. I laid several mats for her and threw a sleeping bag. The bed where my husband and I slept in the previous apartment was also awful. It was all sagging, an old sofa. After a while, I had shoulder pain, and he had shoulder pain too, and our dream was to lie down without sinking, just to lie down comfortably. Good mattresses are very useful.
That’s why we are very grateful to the organization for such help.
- ” Thanks to good sleep, she jokes, she has the energy for volunteering. Together with her daughter, they wove camouflage nets and made trench candles. However, since her daughter has an upcoming National Multidisciplinary Test (NMT), Olena has to spend more time preparing for university admission. Her husband volunteered but mostly worked remotely to support the family financially.
This is the second time Olena has not only received aid from ShelterBox but is also helping to distribute humanitarian aid through the “Ridnia” Community Fund and other IDPs involved in the project.
- “In February 2023, I photographed the process of issuing blankets and controlled the distribution. It was my first collaboration. I was both a recipient and a volunteer. And the second time with ShelterBox was in November 2023. We distributed surveys among people in need about what they needed. We filled them out and received our family kit. I also told the girls that I could help them. It was such an experience. It was snowing again, and that day we visited three small cities. I was in charge of the distribution, and the girls were registering. It really sped up the process.”
As a volunteer, Olena communicates a lot with other people who were forcibly displaced. Many, like Olena’s family, faced misunderstanding from locals renting out apartments, who didn’t realize that IDPs needed more than regular tenants.
- “When we arrived at the apartment, I saw that there was a sofa, but no bed linen, nothing, and I asked, ‘Will there be bed linens?’ And they said, ‘Didn’t you bring your own bed linens?’ This was a big problem because some people didn’t understand, especially those who rented apartments, that people came with very little or nothing. Many were packing in panic. We didn’t think about taking bed linens, cups, spoons because we were more focused on how to bring snails, a hamster, and a guinea pig.”
Hygiene kits were also very useful. The National Network of Local Philanthropy Development (NNLPD) team made an agreement with ShelterBox to ensure that at least one set of aid would be purchased from a Ukrainian supplier. We believe it’s important to support Ukrainian businesses and the economy. The products in the hygiene kits were from Ukrainian manufacturers.
- “Well, the most useful thing was hygiene products because they run out quickly. Things like soap, toothpaste, shampoo. These are things that are used constantly. It may seem like a little bit at a time, but in reality, it adds up to a significant cost, especially for women’s hygiene products.”
In the new city, Olena wanted to find a job but was also hoping to return home soon.
- “It’s very hard to find work in Stryi, or it’s low-paid, minimum wage. I say, by economizing, I can avoid spending too much. I don’t spend much on cosmetics or women’s products as I would like. I even forgot about manicures,” she jokes. “I only buy the essentials. For now, we’ve lived on my husband’s salary, but they laid him off in December. Now he’s looking for work, and I’m looking for part-time work, including some of your proposals (from the National Network of Local Philanthropy Development projects). And as I said, the employment center connected me to help with a small project. I help them with paperwork.” Although Olena’s family is always ready to leave and return to their native Kharkiv, the constant shelling of the city stops them. “
Temporary” has become permanent, and they are now considering starting their own business. They’re thinking of growing mushrooms. Since there’s a participant in the “Dreams in Action” project, which supports social women’s entrepreneurship, who grows mushrooms and makes mushroom jerky, we shared this business on social media. We hope it will inspire Olena’s family, and they’ll take the risk to start something new.
The community of “Dreams in Action” participants is open to helping those in need.
