Disaster Response Ukraine Project #22397

Help Ukraine's refugees to make a new start

by Non-governmental organization Women's Federation for World Peace

Project Report | Jun 3, 2019
Ode to mothers

By Anna Kalmatskaya | Project Leader

Helping Christina

Dear friends, we want to share news from our project with our sincere gratitude for your constant support .

These months as we celebrated International Women’ Day and Mother’s Day we focused our work on taking care of mothers, brave women who despite many hardships keep their optimism and love. We conducted a series of general and individual psychological trainings and integration meetings for internally displaced women, discussing their immediate problems.

One of these unforgettable communications was few meetings with the courageous young mother Christina. After moving from the zone of conflict to the capital of Ukraine, Christina had to stay in a military hostel with minimum of conditions. That time Christina was already pregnant, and her husband stayed in the zone of conflict as a combatant. Christina delivered beautiful daughter, but hardly could provide her with necessary things. Women’s Federation arranged Christina to the house of the mother and child in picturesque Mezhigirye place near Kiev, kept helping her with children's clothes and housewares.

On Mother’s Day, May 12, in cooperation with few other women’s public organizations we held celebration for mothers who lost their sons and relatives in the war in Donbass and for internally displaced mothers. Around 150 people participated in this beautiful event. The celebration started with the solemn march in downtown and finished with prayer and award ceremony in the castle. Many women who lost their relatives were carrying their pictures. Women, who lost their homes and had to radically change their lives moving from one reality to completely different one, shared their stories. They got plenty words of comfort as well as letters to heroic mothers, that were written and shared during the event.

The day after many our internally displaced beneficiaries took part in the Women’s Federation conference that was continuation of Mother’s Day celebration. Beautiful ladies and mothers kept receiving appreciation, awards and gifts. One of the nominees was our long-term partner in working with internally displaced families: director of Kiev-Svyatoshin Center for Social-Psychological Rehabilitation of population. The Center is Women’s Federation constant partner in providing psychological and material assistance to ATO participants and internally displaced people.

Many thanks to amazing mothers with whom we were honoured to interact during this period. And many thanks to you, our dear supporters and friends! We wish you a pleasant summer!

Celebrating Mother's Day with solemn march

Congratulation address at Mother's Day

Conference dated to Mother's Day participants

Awarding women who work with IDPs

Links:

Permalink

Mar 5, 2019
Warm hearts can melt winter cold

By Anna Kalmatskaya | Project Leader

New Year event for IDP families

Dear friends, we are glad to share with you news about our project for Ukrainian IDP families.

This winter was so hot for us, as we were busy with many workshops and actions in frames of our project. We especially organized many festive events to encourage our beneficiaries and congratulate them with Christmas and New Year holidays.

For Saint Nicholas Day, on December 17, Women’s Federation, together with partners, held concert and banquet program for soldiers and those who suffered in ATO zone. This charity action went in the capital main military clinical hospital. Specially for this project we collected handmade amulets and souvenirs for each participant made by our new friends and partners - teaching staff from Vinnitsa City.

One of the Christmas events was workshop for about 30 pupils of the inclusive classes in some of the Kiev City schools. We had master-class on gingerbread christmas tree decorations for kids and communication with parents. Among participants there were children with special needs, internally displaced people, children who need additional or temporary protection, and those with different illnesses.

In cooperation with charity foundation for IDP we organized two New Year events for about 300 IDP families. First event was for IDP families with many children, another one was held in a church that was purposely built for refugees from the Eastern Ukraine. Families could enjoy entertainment and banquet, master-classes and games for kids. All families received gifts and special letters of appreciation.

During one of our master-classes we got acquainted with beautiful lady Alina who moved from Donetsk to the capital four years ago, together with her husband and two younger daughters. Alina went through difficulties, the same as many Internally displaced people from the Eastern Ukraine, but she never lost hope to change it for better not just for herself, but for many others. After famous TV show where Alina dared to appear she became art coach, art therapist, motivational coach for the disclosure of the internal potential of the individual. Alina opened her art cub and now she is holding many art therapy events and charity actions.We wrote Alina’s victorious experience in Family Times newspaper to inspire everyone to keep hope in any desperate situation.

We are grateful for such wonderful winter that we could spend together with our beneficiaries. And everything was possible thanks to you, our dear supporters! Thank you very much and have a wonderful springtime ahead!

New Year master-class for IDP families

Christmas workshop for IDP inclusive kids

Victorious and courageous Alina

Links:

Permalink

Dec 18, 2018
Grandma's battalion and other heroes

By Anna Kalmatskaya | Project Leader

At the Zoo

Our dearest friends, we want to share brief report about project for Ukrainian IDPs progress.

For last autumn months we kept our regular work with Internally displaced families, holding integration workshops, meetings, master-classes and other activity.

During short autumn school vacation we organized a visit to the Kiev Zoo for IDP families and children. The children were running, having fun, watching the animal world, sharing their impressions and photos.

One of the families who shared this wonderful time with us was our new wards, Alla with her kids.

Alla moved from Donetsk in 2014, together with two children, as well as with an elderly mother of 84 years. 11 years old son Yevgeny and 17 years old daughter Maria were adopted by Alla from an orphanage. They are siblings who lost their parents. Alla with kids experienced many movings from one place to another. At the moment they live in a rent apartment, Alla works in the social service and alone takes care of the whole family, though she herself has serious health problems. However her main concern is not about herself, but about children who experienced a serious psychological trauma from the former family and moving from Donetsk.

With pleasure we took Alla's family under our care, organizing integration work with them, communicating, taking them to the zoo and to other programs.

One of the sources of inspiration for us during this autumn period was our new heroes and partners, group of elderly ladies from Zhytomyr City, who got a name “Grandma's battalion”.

These charming ladies (the oldest of them is 81 years old) are sewing underwear, gloves, pillows, socks and many other things for soldiers and those who live in the Eastern Ukraine war zone. For last few years they made and sent to the ATO zone more than 2.6 thousand pieces.

While meeting with that wonderful kind-hearted grannies we were amazed by their team work. Everyone here knows her task. If someone knits socks, then others sewing pillows, linen and mittens by sewing machines.

Women’s Federation organized actions together with “Grandma's battalion” in frames of our project, making humanitarian aid for IDPs and those who still stay in the war zone. We are proud to have such partners in our work!

And we are really proud of you, our dear donors and friends, and grateful for your big hearts and sincere help! Thank you so much and have nice Christmas holidays!

At the Zoo-1

With Alla's family

Grandma's battalion

Grandma's battalion-1

Links:

Permalink

‹ 1 ... 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.