The project «Crisis in Ukraine: Response and Recovery Taking into Account the Needs of Persons with Disabilities under the Leadership and Coordination of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (Phase 2)», implemented by the National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine (hereinafter - NAPWD) with the support of European Disability Forum (EDF) and Christian mission for the blind (SVM).
As part of the project, NGOs working with people with disabilities prepared and defended grant applications for short-term projects. In particular, 14 NAPD member and partner organizations provide assistance and services to people with disabilities. 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.
The All-Ukrainian League of Organizations of Persons with Visual Impairments «Modern View« (hereinafter referred to as »Modern View«) also joined the Project. »Support for Civilians and Military Who Lost Their Sight During the War« is a project of the organization that has been successfully implemented and is no less important than the other projects presented earlier.
According to project manager Olesia Perepechenko: "Our main task is to inform the society about the needs, rules of communication and rules of assistance to people who have lost their sight. The project covered 5 regions of Ukraine. We started our work with educational and informational webinars for veterans who lost their sight in the war. We try to involve the veterans themselves in mentoring so that they can help other military and civilians who have lost their sight with their experience.».
Another important mission of the project is psychological support and emotional relief for the wives and mothers of our blind veterans. Their support, training, and psychological counseling make a significant contribution to the preservation of human resources. These webinars are a platform for obtaining information, new knowledge, sharing experiences, ideas, etc.
A professional psychologist provided counseling and support to all program participants and their families. Group trainings were held aimed at mutual support, discussing problems and finding ways to solve them. They also taught self-regulation techniques using body-oriented psychotherapy.
In order to identify existing barriers and focus on the needs of vulnerable groups, the project conducted a small study. It identified acute problems for different groups of participants, namely: veterans who lost their eyesight as a result of the war; their family members (wives and mothers); and ophthalmologists who try to preserve the victims' eyesight.
«Each step of our project was aimed at informing the public about current challenges and ways to help people with visual impairments. These steps are gradually becoming an important mechanism in the cooperation between society and people with visual impairments,» says Olesia Perepechenko.
The project has achieved its results, including raising public awareness of the problems of people who lost their sight due to the war, providing effective psychological support to veterans and their families, and creating a platform for sharing experiences and ideas on how to help people with visual impairments.
And we continue to support and help people. The next steps include further improving the support program, expanding the project's geography, and improving cooperation with various stakeholder groups.
