Ms. Iryna is a wheelchair user. She is a civic activist who has been helping people with disabilities evacuate from the hot spots since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
«We turned out to be the most vulnerable category again.».
She did not expect that she would soon become an internally displaced person herself.
«When Putin started such rhetoric that bacteriological weapons were being developed in Kharkiv and Poltava, my children insisted that I leave. I had my bag ready. What do you mean, ready? I had a bag, but my things were everywhere. I have never had such a mess in my apartment as I had in those days. I couldn't get my stuff together,» says Iryna.
At first, Ms. Iryna went to her relatives in Cherkasy region. However, the house was not adapted for a person with limited mobility. So she agreed to the offer of her friends to come to Chernivtsi.
«To say that we were friends, no. We did not cross paths in sanatoriums. The most active work was in the community.».
Ms. Iryna was invited to their home by the couple Oleh and Liliya.
«In the first days, when many refugees arrived, and there would be people with disabilities among them, we told them that we had a room. We have full accessibility. Check-ins, check-outs. It's convenient for a person in a wheelchair,» the couple says.
Oleh and Liliia know what it is like to be a mobility impaired IDP because they were in this status themselves. Until 2014, they lived in Simferopol. Their twins Maria and Bohdan were born there in January. However, their full-fledged happiness did not last long. When the children were two months old, the Russians annexed Crimea, so the couple decided to find housing in the territory controlled by Ukraine.
«Children of 3-4 years old are shooting. They are playing at being Ukrofascists. They have dill there. They have already been told. I imagined my children there. That was the main reason why we got together and decided not to leave our children there,» says Oleh Myskiw.
We finally left Crimea in April 2016 and were building a barrier-free house in Chernivtsi until September 2021. We built it for our family, but we are glad that the house has become a refuge for someone else in such a difficult time.
«We don't have any problems with the kitchen or housekeeping. We have no problems at all. Our common grief unites us and we have become close,» says Lilia Shkolnik.
«We don't feel any discomfort. Moreover, there is a certain benefit to us, because Iryna is a primary school teacher by first degree. She used to work as a teacher and has experience with children, she helps us and knows all these teacher's nuances,» says Oleh Myskiw.
But this shelter for Ms. Iryna might not have existed, because the room was empty. After the house was built, the couple had no money left for furniture. Moreover, it should be specially designed for people in wheelchairs. That's why philanthropists came to help with the arrangement. Almost 40 thousand hryvnias were provided for the purchase of a bed, mattress, computer desk and cabinets as part of the project «Protection of People with Disabilities in War,» implemented by the Chernivtsi Regional Organization of People with Disabilities «Leader» with the financial support of the American organization Numotion Foundation in cooperation with
National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine.
«Unfortunately, there is very little accessible housing for people who use wheelchairs. If there is, it is state-owned and, unfortunately, there is no provision for a person to feel more comfortable. The room was empty. At first they found one, but Ms. Iryna needed a special bed. Later, when we had the money, we bought a bed, a mattress, a wall, and a computer desk.» We are very pleased that thanks to the support of the Numotion Foundation of the American organization Numotion Foundation, we were able to support Lilia and Oleh's family, as well as make Iryna's stay in Bukovyna comfortable. Valentina Dobrydina, head NGO “Chernivtsi regional organization of people with disabilities “LEADER”.
Over the course of the project, funded by the American organization Numotion Foundation, more than a hundred Ukrainians with disabilities have received assistance. This includes financial support, hygiene products, food packages, and psychological support for people with disabilities, including IDPs. Currently, we are still working in the medical field. We have purchased a gynecological chair for women with disabilities for the Storozhynets hospital and are in the process of equipping a ward for people with limited mobility.
(Material prepared by Natalia Synyusyk).
