"A New Path to Independence: The Story of Ruslan Donets: The Story of Ruslan Donets

"Everything I have learned here in 10 days is necessary for my new life," says Ruslan Donets, 50, a resident of the city of Kyiv.

We meet at a support and rehabilitation camp for veterans who lost their sight in the war and their families, organized by the National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine. This time the camp is taking place in Vinnytsia.

Three months ago, Ruslan, who was fighting in the Kupyansk sector, was attacked by several drones that dropped explosives. He saw flashes and came to in the hospital. Since then, his life has been dominated by darkness: the explosions completely deprived him of his sight. Only recently Ruslan has accepted that he will not have sight, and he often repeats the phrase: "You have to adapt and move on with your life."

Before the war, Ruslan had lived alone for many years: he had divorced his wife, and his adult son and daughter lived separately. When he returned to his empty house after the hospital, he learned to walk around the house and yard. However, he did not dare to go outside or go to the store, he did not know how to navigate.

"I had help from distant relatives who live a few houses away. But this is not an option. I can't ask them to take me somewhere every day or cook me a meal. That's why I came to this camp at the invitation of Olesya Mykolayivna," the veteran says. "And now I can walk quite well with or without a cane," he rejoices.

Ruslan liked the course on social and household orientation. They taught him how to organize his life.

"This is the basic thing you need to know: how to find your own clothes, wash yourself, go to the toilet, and cook food. No one goes around naked and hungry," he laughs.

He liked the way coach Nina Aseyeva taught him how to distribute his clothes.

"The guys have lived a lot of their lives, they have dressed, and they know what is beautiful and ugly. They may want a light T-shirt or sweater when they are in a mood, and I teach them how to sort things and put them in a way that they can find them easily and simply. I also teach them how to distinguish dirty socks from clean ones, how to arrange things in the bathroom, etc.", comments Nina. "Their life will improve after attending the camp. No one will call out to their mother, who lives two doors down, or wear one blue sock and one gray sock. The boys are happy that they can return to the independence they had before."

Ruslan is pleased to realize that he can actually do everything that people with sight do. There are no restrictions. Walk the routes you want, be able to buy coffee or medicine and pay with money that you recognize yourself, without the help of gadgets.

Since he lived alone and knew how to cook a variety of dishes, he asked the camp to teach him how to do it "with his eyes closed."

"I managed to make and cook dumplings! And I didn't crush them, hit them in the pot, or scald myself. I cooked them and they were delicious!"

He likes the fact that he is working with coaches who have partially lost their eyesight themselves. So they understand him. This is how trust is built.

"All the knowledge I gained here will turn into habits, and I will implement them in my future life. The camp helped me to become more confident and cheerful, and most importantly, I have plans," says Ruslan.

The coaches note that at first he was silent and withdrawn, but in the camp he began to smile. He even shared his dream: he wants to find love, support and become a support for someone else.

This event was held within the framework of the project "Crisis in Ukraine: Response and Recovery with the Needs of Persons with Disabilities, led and coordinated by organizations of persons with disabilities (Phase 2), implemented by the National Assembly of Persons with Disabilities of Ukraine with the support of the European Disability Forum (EDF) and the Christian Blind Mission (CBM).

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"Everything I have learned here during these 10 days is necessary for my new life," says 50-year-old Ruslan Donets, a resident of Kyiv.

We are meeting at the support and rehabilitation camp for veterans who lost their eyesight in the war and their family members, organized by the National Assembly of Persons with Disabilities of Ukraine. This time, the camp is taking place in Vinnytsia city.

Three months ago, Ruslan, who was fighting in the Kupiansk sector, was attacked by several drones that dropped explosives. He only saw flashes before regaining consciousness in a hospital. Since then, darkness prevails in his life: the explosions completely deprived him of his eyesight. Only recently has Ruslan accepted that he will not regain his vision, and he often repeats the phrase: "You have to adapt and move on."

Before the war, Ruslan lived alone for many years: he and his wife had divorced, and his adult son and daughter live separately. When he returned to his empty house after the hospital, he learned to walk around the house and in the courtyard. However, he did not dare to go outside or visit the store, as he did not know how to navigate.

"I was helped by my distant relatives who live a few houses away. But this is not a solution. I can't ask them to take me somewhere or cook me a meal every day. So, after an invitation from Olesia Mykolaivna, I came to this camp," the veteran says. "And now I can walk quite well with a cane and even without," he rejoices.

Ruslan liked the course on social and household orientation, where they taught how to organize daily life.

"This is the basis of what you should be able to do yourself: find your own clothes, wash yourself, use the toilet, and cook food. No one goes around naked and hungry," he laughs.

Most of all, he liked how the trainer Nina Aseeva taught them to organize their clothes.

"The guys have lived a significant part of their lives, they have dressed themselves before, and they know what looks good and what doesn't. They may want to put on a light-colored T-shirt or a sweater depending on their mood, and I teach them how to sort and stack their clothes so they can find them easily later. There are also methods to distinguish dirty socks from clean ones, to arrange things in the bathroom, and so on," comments Nina. "Their lives will improve after attending the camp. No one will call out for their mom, who lives two doors away, or wear one blue sock and one gray sock anymore. The boys are happy they can return to the independent living they had before."

Ruslan is pleased to realize that he can actually do everything that people with eyesight do. There are no limits. You can walk the routes you want, buy a coffee or medicine and pay with money that you discern yourself, without the help of gadgets.

Since he lived alone and knew how to cook various dishes, he asked the camp trainers to teach him how to do it "with his eyes closed."

"I managed to make and cook dumplings on my own! And I didn't crush them, but placed them directly into the pot, without scalding myself. I cooked them, and they were delicious!"

He likes that he is working with trainers who have partially lost their eyesight themselves. So, they understand him. This is how trust is built.

"All the knowledge I've gained here will turn into habits, and I will put them into practice in my future life. The camp helped me to become more confident and cheerful, and most importantly, now I have plans," says Ruslan.

The camp trainers note that at first, he was silent and closed off, but in the camp, he began to smile. He even shared his dream - he wants to find his love and support and become a support for someone else.

These stories are prepared as part of the project "Crisis in Ukraine: OPD-Led Disability Inclusive Response and Recovery (Phase 2)," implemented by the National Assembly of Persons with Disabilities of Ukraine with support from the European Disability Forum (EDF) and the Christian Blind Mission (CBM).