Today, the most vulnerable category of people are people with disabilities - those who lived or still live in cities where active hostilities are taking place. They are the focus of special attention of government institutions and NGOs. Currently, all of them are trying to provide various types of assistance: from humanitarian supplies (food, clothing, medicines) to organizing evacuations and providing temporary accommodation in special boarding houses, centers, etc.
The Secretariat of the National Assembly of Persons with Disabilities of Ukraine, together with its members - public organizations of persons with disabilities, including parental organizations - also continue to join the humanitarian initiative and are actively involved in providing such assistance primarily to persons with disabilities, internally displaced families raising children with disabilities, and elderly people affected by military operations. At the same time, NGOs also deal with communication and logistics issues, and facilitate the organization of transportation, etc. The war has united Ukrainians. Everyone is doing something to bring victory closer.
- The team of the Center for the Temporary Stay of People with Disabilities and the Elderly in Dnipro, established by public organization "Center for Social Adaptation of People with Disabilities «Ocean of Good» led by Olga Volkova does not relax. People with disabilities and elderly people from the hot spots of Ukraine are welcomed under the sirens. With the help of the organization «Vostok-SOS» and with the support of Save the Children Ukraine» a large group of people was sent to Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv. There they were able to rest and rehabilitate a bit, and the Center in Dnipro is now waiting for new people to take care of them.
- Center «The Right to Choose» led by Valentina Butenko did not stand aside, and on the second day of the war, he set up a humanitarian aid headquarters for people with disabilities and immediately went in search of food and medicine. Thanks to the support of Elena Shingareva, head of the enterprise “Invataxi”, super driver Andriy Kornienko Their team was able to take people lying down under fire to evacuation points and purchase some medicines and food. We are grateful for their courage and civic stance. Today, the second group has been sent to Belgium, where it was expected.
“Despite everything, we are optimists. We work and dream even during the war. Our organization has not stopped working for a single day. However, the areas of work have changed. The headquarters team (speech and language therapists, physical therapists, tifflopedagogues, etc.) organizes the evacuation of people with disabilities, finds and delivers food and medicine to those who stayed in Kharkiv. It turns out that we are able to do this as well. But the question of the authority to help made us think about who we are as Right of Choice. In July, our organization turns 20 years old. And they have not been in vain. We are members of the “Single Social Network” of our heroic city of Kharkiv, members of the NGO “National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine”. The city authorities know about the activities of our headquarters. And what we do, we do only thanks to our partners from Kharkiv, Lviv, Poland, Germany, the United States, and Turkey, who trust us. While writing, I thought that our small team is doing fantastic things.“ Valentina Butenko.
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Thanks to public organizations “AirLight” (member of NAIU) and “Association of Engineers of Ukraine” In Zaporizhzhia, humanitarian aid was provided in the form of food packages, sanitary and hygiene products, medicines and clothing to refugees from towns and villages where active hostilities are currently taking place. More than 200 people from the city were also reached, including people with disabilities, children, single mothers, large families, pensioners, the wounded and the needy. We would like to express our gratitude to the leaders and assistants of these public organizations, namely: Miroshnychenko I. S. and Pistriuga T. V., for the help and support provided to people, including people with disabilities, who were in difficult situations
shchi.
- Chernivtsi regional organization of people with disabilities «Leader» headed by a representative of the NAIU in the region Valentina Dobrydina thanks to the established cooperation and interaction with Chudey Church of the Baptist Church recently received humanitarian aid (hygiene products, food, etc.). Such assistance was also provided to the Chernivtsi Geriatric Nursing Home and the Inpatient Department for permanent or temporary residence of the Storozhynets Territorial Center in Chudey village. Thank you for this. But even when they need and receive help, our organizations of people with disabilities try to help someone else, which is very admirable. They will share the help they received with their friends from Balta, Odesa Oblast. We are sincerely grateful for the important support and assistance from our network of partners Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University and Gedankendach Center at the Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University (as part of the Center for German Studies, NGO «Ukrainian-German Cultural Society of Chernivtsi» і лof the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD), The program is provided to organizations of people with disabilities and all those in need.
«Every day we distribute necessary things to people with disabilities, IDPs, and the elderly.», ̶ Valentina Dobrydina.
- During this time publishing house «Introliga TOR», headed by Ukrainian poet, novelist and publisher By Oleksandr Prylutskyi, a visually impaired person with a group I disability, has become a kind of volunteer center in eastern Ukraine. The «Day» (NAIU member), which is also chaired by Oleksandr Ivanovych, plays a significant role in helping citizens of Ukraine, and in particular vulnerable categories of people from Kharkiv. In turn, NAIU expresses its gratitude to the family Alexander and Kateryna Zemlyansky and the team Lokri LLC« and its director Yuri Pekshev.
«It all started with helping the people of Kharkiv: having learned from my colleagues there about the difficulties with certain products, I turned to my friends and acquaintances and soon about a ton of food was delivered to specific addresses. The staff of the Cherkasy City Library also joined this action, where last week they finally scheduled a meeting with me as a writer, which was repeatedly postponed due to martial law.» Oleksandr Prylutskyi.
- Representatives and volunteers NAIU Secretariat in cooperation with other public organizations, in particular NGO Troyeschyna FB», collected food for our guys from the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Dnipropetrovs'k region, sent humanitarian aid to Chernihiv region (Nova Basan and Bykiv). The work continues.
NAIU Secretariat continues to work in Kyiv, and NAIU representatives in the regions. We maintain contacts with the temporarily occupied regions (if possible).
- To date, thanks to the international support of partners, the NAIU has provided financial assistance to 285 people with disabilities for a total of UAH 648 thousand.
- NAPD member organizations in cooperation with government agencies are helping with the evacuation of people with disabilities and their families from different regions of Ukraine.
- The NAPD continues to cooperate with various international organizations of people with disabilities to accommodate people with disabilities and provide humanitarian assistance.
- We continue to provide assistance to transit centers for people with disabilities and families with children with disabilities who are being evacuated from the occupied territories and dangerous areas, established on the basis of NUIA member organizations. All places are adapted to the needs of people with disabilities.
- We inform our citizens through the NAPD's Internet resources about the current situation and new legislative initiatives of the government on social protection of persons with disabilities in Ukraine.
- We advise people with disabilities and their families on evacuation, border crossing, and humanitarian aid.
- We monitor and provide information on the situation of people with disabilities in the war to UN agencies and international institutions that defend the rights of people with disabilities.
- We record Russia's war crimes against citizens with disabilities and pass on information to the European Forum of Persons with Disabilities, the International Alliance of People with Disabilities, and the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
This is just a small part of a bigger picture! To say that you are GOOD is an understatement! We are very grateful to the active members of the NAIU and their leaders, partners who are involved in humanitarian response in such difficult times for all of us!
We thank all our foreign and national partners and friends for their constructive cooperation, valuable and significant assistance that they generously provide us in this difficult time for our country!
We are proud of each of you and continue to be worthy citizens of our country and move towards assistance, mutual support and our common Victory!
We take care of ourselves and continue to help others!
Many thanks to all of you!
