Ukraine : IDP testimonies

Supporting children in a reception center. The story of Yulia and Serhiy

Due to the war in Ukraine, 40-year-old Yulia from Kramatorsk, Donetska Oblast, had to leave her home with her 13-year-old son Serhiy, her mother and her disabled father. The family left Kramatorsk on March 15, 2022, while Yulia’s husband stayed behind.
Yulia and her family first moved to Dnipro, but they still didn’t feel safe there. Thanks to social media, the family found refuge in the village of Polianytsia, in the Ivano-Frankivska region, where they have been living for the past two years.

Adapting to a new life has not been easy for the family. Yulia coped with it with the support of her husband and mother, and a year ago began working as the shelter’s administrator. Serhiy was going through a difficult time, but at the shelter he surrounded himself with sociable friends who, like him, felt anxious and homesick. A total of eight children live in the shelter, only one of whom goes to school, while the others study remotely.

The Première Urgence Internationale emergency response team visited the collective center, where the team’s psychologist organized a recreational activity with the children. Première Urgence Internationale also provided the shelter with a box for children aged 5 to 15, containing a variety of objects to stimulate imagination and creativity: puzzles, drawing and creativity kits, puppet theater toys, balloons, coloring books, board games, pencils, modeling clay and crayons.

These materials should help the shelter’s young residents to express their emotions, create their own safe place and space, and reduce their internal tension and anxiety.

“This children’s game not only keeps my son entertained for hours,” Yulia points out, “it also helps him develop important skills. He can build, draw, pretend and much more. It’s a great alternative to gadgets and TV, because it lets him spend time actively and learn through play. I also love that my son can play with this game with his friends. They come up with different stories and adventures.”

Supporting Mykhailo after his mine injury

Mykhailo is 65 years old. During the occupation of the village where he lives, Nova Husarivka, Kharkivska Oblast, fields, roads and private territories were mined. One day, while Mykhailo was clearing branches near his house, an explosion occurred. He stepped on a mine hidden in the grass. Thanks to the quick intervention of his son and a neighbor, who gave him first aid, and to the rapid response of the medical services, Mykhailo was taken to Balakliya hospital.

Mykhailo’s wife contacted the Première Urgence Internationale mobile team, who provided her husband with comprehensive support to stabilize his physical and mental condition. The Première Urgence Internationale doctor carried out a thorough examination and prescribed the necessary treatment, while the team’s psychologist conducted several therapy sessions. The psychologist’s support helped Mykhailo to overcome the consequences of his accident, including post-traumatic stress and depression. It also helped him find internal resources for his future life, face his fears and regain his self-confidence. The social worker helped Mykhailo and his family access social support programs.

Mykhailo says he’s living a full life again, without losing hope for the future.

Renovating Valentyna’s new home

Valentyna is 24 years old. Before the war in Ukraine, she was a housewife and her husband Denys worked in a mine in Novohrodivka, in the Pokrovsk district of Donetska oblast.

The destruction of civilian infrastructure in their hometown meant constant interruptions to water and electricity supplies. Valentyna’s family, along with her brother’s, were forced to move to the village of Lezhyne, in the Zaporizka oblast, where the locals provided them with a house. Although the house is in need of repair, it represents a new beginning for the family.

During a visit to the municipal council of a neighboring village, Valentyna learned that she could apply for financial aid from Première Urgence Internationale in Lezhyne.

Thanks to this aid, Valentyna’s family will be able to repair the house entrusted to them and start living comfortably again.

These initiatives are made possible thanks to the support of the United States Bureau for humanitarian assistance (BHA).

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