A New Beginning After Evacuation from the Frontline: A Path to Safety
As russian forces intensified their offensive and the frontline drew closer to the village of Filiia in the Synelnykove district of the Dnipropetrovsk region, near the border with Donetsk, Tamara chose to stay. Despite the growing danger, she remained in her home and continued to support Ukrainian defenders.
When Tamara learned that soldiers were searching for accommodation, she did not hesitate to offer them a place to stay. Her house had several spare rooms, and she welcomed the defenders without question. To this day, she keeps in touch with some of them – they thank her for her kindness and affectionately call her “mom.”
For Tamara, this care was deeply personal. She understands the fear and worry of loving someone at the front, as her own son is also defending Ukraine.
Over time, however, the shelling intensified. Tamara was forced to leave her home and move to her daughter-in-law’s house in a neighboring village, where she could temporarily stay in a summer kitchen. But winter was approaching, and living there long-term was impossible. Soon, enemy attacks reached that village as well, and her worsening health only added to her anxiety. Evacuation became the only way to protect her life.
In October, the East SOS team met Tamara at the evacuee transit center in Pavlohrad and arranged temporary accommodation for her at the Center for Social Adaptation for People with Disabilities run by the NGO Ocean of Good in Dnipro. There, she began to recover from her experiences. Despite ongoing uncertainty about the future, Tamara found the strength to support her roommate, attend psychological counseling, and resist despair.
“If you focus only on the bad things, nothing good will happen. I understood this when constant anxiety and worry about my son completely exhausted me. It’s important to take care of yourself and preserve your strength,” Tamara says.
Tamara stayed in Dnipro for nearly two months. During this time, East SOS social workers supported her in obtaining a foreign passport. Together with partners from the Barrier-Free Foundation, the team was able to find a place for her in Germany that provides inpatient care. In early December, Tamara left for Germany. Today, she is safe and finally able to focus on her health and recovery.
In November 2025, with the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), East SOS provided 400 social counseling sessions and 66 psychological counseling sessions to people affected by the war; helped 62 individuals find safe accommodation; conducted two outreach visits to inform residents of frontline communities in the Dnipropetrovsk region about evacuation opportunities; organized two art therapy sessions for 18 residents of the Center for Social Adaptation for People with Disabilities run by the NGO Ocean of Good in Dnipro.
East SOS is implementing the project “Protection and Psychosocial Services for People with Limited Mobility and Persons with Disabilities Affected by the War” with the support of SIDA.
Recently, we shared the story of Vitalii, who received support from East SOS on his journey toward a new life.
