Shelter for Ukrainians who have lost their homes

Dear friends,

We are reaching out to you once again with words of gratitude for your ongoing support!

As the war continues, every day some family loses their home. Our Shelter "Your Support" exists to guarantee support and become a pillar of strength for internally displaced people who need a bed, clothes, food, adaptation and psychological assistance. 

Today we would like to tell you about a family, who arrived in Lviv in October 2023 from the town of Kurakhove, Donetsk region. They are a mom, a dad, and 7 children.

"For us, the war started back in 2014," says mom, "Kurakhovo is near Donetsk. But on February 22, 2022, not even 24, it became very loud. It was flying all over the town, right next door. We would often sit in the basement with the children. Sometimes at night, sometimes around the clock. There was a situation when we stayed there for a week. There were many destroyed buildings, it was very scary, we were afraid for the children's lives."

When it became too dangerous, the family moved to Kropyvnytskyi, where they lived for 9 months in an IDP shelter. At first, it was calm in Kropyvnytskyi, the city was rarely shelled. But later it started happening more and more often, very close to the family's new location. The children were very homesick. The family decided to return to Kurakhovo. They stayed at home for 4 months.

"We have an apartment on the second floor where we lived with our children, and we also have a private house where our parents live. The city has changed beyond recognition. Many houses have been destroyed. Out of more than a hundred shops, only 3 are still working. There are only pensioners left in the town. During another shelling all the windows in our apartment were smashed. It is terrible. We had to make a decision to move again. My father is 68 years old and my mother is 63. Despite persuasion, they absolutely refused to leave the town. It's very upsetting, I'm worried about them, but I can't do anything about it. On September 22, an entire residential area in Kurakhovo was bombed. There are only ruins left. Our apartment is also gone, there is practically nowhere to go back to," says mom.

In October 2023, the family finally decided to leave Kurakhovo, this time heading to western Ukraine. At the train station, they were given the contacts of the shelter "Your Support" and on October 2 they came to us.

"We were welcomed very warmly. They provided us with everything we needed - bedding, towels, hygiene products. They showed us a shower room, dining room, laundry room, took us to our room and settled us in. We are very happy here, especially our eldest son, Oleksii. After a difficult life in Kurakhovo, he finally managed to get enough sleep and relax.  He says he feels like he's back home. I especially like that we live in a separate room with freshly renovated, beautiful new furniture - beds, a large wardrobe, a chest of drawers. The youngest Damir got a cot, which is very convenient.
My children and I go for walks in the park next to the Shelter, which we like very much. The children also go to various activities. I really liked the English class. They were delighted with chemistry - they ran to me after the class and started talking over each other , it was so interesting.
You have great conditions, very tasty lunches, nice caring staff. When we left home, everyone was intimidating us, saying that we would be harassed and insulted here, and we were worried about that. It's funny to think back now. We were going to move to Germany, and now we are even thinking about staying in Lviv.
Our family is very grateful to foreign donors for this Shelter. They are great for doing so much to ensure that people can live in such good conditions," says mom.

Each donation you make allows us to fulfill our main task - to enable people who have survived shelling, cold basements, lack of water and food to feel protected and recover in comfort and care.

Since February 24, 2022, within the framework of the project "Help Ukraine! Stop War", the CF "Your Support" has been providing assistance to Ukrainians affected by the war. It covers more than 130 medical institutions in Ukraine, 59 orphanages and more than 4,250 internally displaced persons who have received temporary housing and assistance in our Shelter in Lviv.

Links:

• https://youtu.be/KdoAIZnm6wU?si=LZnISiRhzZX__SzZ