A stroke, heart attack, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, amputation, etc. is not a sentence, because a person can return to a full life after an illness thanks to timely and high-quality rehabilitation and proper care.
Over the past two months, the NGO «Center for Social Adaptation of People with Disabilities «Ocean of Good» has been implementing the mini-project «Accessibility to Life» as part of the project «Crisis in Ukraine: Response and Recovery Taking into Account the Needs of People with Disabilities under the Leadership and Coordination of Organizations of People with Disabilities (Phase 2)».
The goal of the project is to create conditions for the rapid adaptation of people with disabilities and elderly people who have just suffered a stroke and loss of limbs as a result of hostilities to new life circumstances, as well as to support the social activity of the wards.
According to the head of the NGO «Ocean of Good» Olga Volkova: «In Ukraine, there is no centralized institution or center that would provide comprehensive support services for people with disabilities and people with limited mobility evacuated from hot spots. A partial solution to this problem is the creation and operation of the Center for Social Adaptation and Reintegration of Persons with Disabilities and the Elderly Evacuated from Hot Spots and the implementation of the Accessibility to Life project. This is important not only for our city, but for the country, because we take people from the war zones and send them to safer cities. We are the first line of adaptation, rehabilitation, and socialization for these people, so the first steps of their safe development are very important for their future life.«.
The Center has a specially equipped rehabilitation room. As part of the project, 20 people received rehabilitation services. The care services were provided around the clock and covered about 20 people over the entire period. These are patients with acute cerebrovascular accident (ACVA, hereinafter referred to as stroke), left and right hemiparesis, gait disorders and weakness in the upper and lower extremities, basic mobility disorders, hip fracture, knee tendonitis, walking disorders and body weakness.
During rehabilitation and care, various exercises and techniques were performed under the supervision of a physical therapist. They were also taught to be independent in everyday life, taking into account the needs and physiological characteristics of a person with a disability and an elderly person who uses a wheelchair. Relatives and persons accompanying/caring for persons with disabilities were informed and trained on rehabilitation and socialization opportunities.
«For the residents of the Center, particularly the elderly, it can help restore not only physical fitness and health, but also the joy of life,» says Olga Volkova. "The Center is home to at least 90 elderly and disabled people who were evacuated from war zones, de-occupied and frontline towns and villages. These people need constant rehabilitation and care. We have the opportunity to help them.".
For this purpose, the Center has a rehabilitation hall, a room consisting of two buildings where people receive care services.
«In the two months of the project, there have been many success stories,» says Olga Volkova, "but we were all impressed by 58-year-old Arkady, with whom physical therapist Ilya worked. The man had suffered an acute stroke. He could walk no more than 10 meters at a time with a special rollator walker. He was quite weak and unmotivated. On the first Sunday of classes, he was unenthusiastic, sometimes even preferring to skip them. At the beginning of the second Sunday, I saw the first results - the man walked more than 30 meters without rest, and his strength in the lower limbs increased. At the moment, he walks with a single cane, independently, more than 60 meters without rest, and has not missed a single lesson.".
The NGO «Ocean of Good» expresses its sincere and boundless gratitude to the European Disability Forum and the Christian Mission of the Blind, as well as the NDPU for their long-term assistance, support and invaluable trust, which were so necessary in these difficult times. Despite the fact that the project has already come to an end, we are ready to continue to help people and bring our Victory closer together!
"Crisis in Ukraine: Response and Recovery Taking into Account the Needs of Persons with Disabilities under the Leadership and Coordination of Disability Organizations (Phase 2)" (hereinafter - the Project), implemented by the National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine (hereinafter - the NAPDU) with the support of the European Disability Forum (EDF) and the Christian Mission of the Blind (CMB). As part of the project, NGOs working with people with disabilities prepared and defended grant applications for short-term projects. These projects will improve access to social services and humanitarian aid for people with disabilities, which is especially important in the context of war and the complications it has caused.
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Accessibility to life
stroke, heart attack, brain injury, spinal cord injury, amputation, etc. are not a sentence, because a person after an illness can return to a full life thanks to timely and high-quality rehabilitation and proper care.
During the last two months, the NGO “Center for Social Adaptation of People with Disabilities “Ocean of Good” implemented the mini-project “Accessibility to Life” within the framework of the project “Crisis in Ukraine: Response and recovery taking into account the needs of people with disabilities under the leadership and coordination of organizations of people with disabilities (2nd phase)”.
The goal of the project is to create conditions for the rapid adaptation of persons with disabilities and elderly people who have just survived a stroke and loss of limbs as a result of hostilities to new life circumstances, as well as support for the social activity of the wards.
According to the head of the NGO Ocean Dobra Olga Volkova: “There is not a single centralized institution or center in Ukraine that would provide comprehensive support services for people with disabilities and low-mobility population groups evacuated from hot spots. A partial solution to this problem is the creation and operation of the Center for Social Adaptation and Reintegration of Persons with Disabilities and the Elderly Evacuated from Hot Spots and the implementation of the ”Accessibility to Life“ project. This is important not only for our city, but for our country because we receive people from war zones and send them to safer cities. We are the first line of adaptation, rehabilitation and socialization for these people, so the first steps of their safe formation for their future life are very important.“
A hall for rehabilitation was specially equipped at the Center. As part of the project, 20 people received rehabilitation services. Care services were provided around the clock and about 20 people were covered during the entire period. These are patients after an acute stroke, with left and right hemiparesis, with impaired gait and weakness in the upper and lower limbs, with impaired basic mobility, after a hip fracture, with tendinitis of the knee joints, with impaired walking and body weakness.
During rehabilitation and care, various exercises and techniques were performed under the supervision of a physical therapist. There was also training for a certain independence in everyday life, taking into account the needs and physiological characteristics of a person with a disability and an elderly person who moves with the help of a wheelchair. Relatives and persons accompanying/caring for persons with disabilities were informed and trained about the possibilities of rehabilitation and socialization.
“For residents of the Center, in particular, elderly people, this can help restore not only physical fitness and health, but also joy in life,” says Olga Volkova. At least 90 elderly and disabled people who were evacuated from war zones, de-occupied frontline towns and villages live in 24-hour centers. These people need constant rehabilitation and care. We have an opportunity to help them.”
For this purpose, the Center has equipped a hall for rehabilitation, a room with two buildings where people receive care services.
“In the two months of the project, there are already quite a few success stories,” says Olga Volkova, “but we were all impressed by 58-year-old Arkady, with whom physical therapist Ilya worked. The man suffered an acute stroke. He walked with special walkers-rollators no more than 10 meters at a time. He was quite weak and unmotivated. On the first Sunday of classes, he was discouraged, sometimes he even wanted to skip. At the beginning of the second Sunday, I saw the first results - the man walked more than 30 meters without rest, his strength in his lower limbs increased. At the moment, he walks with a single-support cane, independently, more than 60 meters without rest, he has not missed a single class.”
The “Ocean of Good” NGO expresses its sincere and boundless gratitude to the European Disability Forum and the Christian Mission of the Blind, as well as to the National Institute of Public Health for the long-term help, support and invaluable trust that was so necessary in these difficult times. Despite the fact that the project has already reached its end, we are ready to continue to help people and bring our Victory closer together!
