Комплексна підтримка вразливих груп населення: від порятунку до відновлення
“Our village no longer exists,” says Liudmyla from the village of Svoboda (meaning “Freedom”) in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. She left in early February this year together with her brother Serhii and their mother, Hanna Herasymivna.
After evacuation, the family stayed at a transit center, where Liubov Vasylenko, a lawyer at EAST SOS, helped them restore their documents. Some had been destroyed, while others had been left behind in their damaged home back in the village.
By that time, almost no one remained in the settlement – Liudmyla’s family was the second-to-last to leave. She says their village was small but friendly. russian forces had been shelling it for a long time, and people gradually began to leave: first families with young children, then everyone else. Liudmyla kept hoping until the very end that things would calm down, spring would come, and they would plant their vegetable garden. But for the last six months, the village had had neither electricity nor water. “When the shelling was very heavy, we would go outside and sit somewhere under a shed because our cellar was old and unsafe,” she shares.
Their evacuation happened before dawn. “It wasn’t even 5 AM. It was dark. They drove us so fast that I will never forget it. I could see everything exploding behind us, so we made it out at the very last moment.”
The EAST SOS lawyer helped Liudmyla and her mother restore their passports and identification numbers, as well as open bank accounts. Hanna Herasymivna also received assistance in restoring her pension certificate. In addition, Liudmyla faced difficulties applying for IDP payments because she had no registered place of residence, but this issue was resolved as well.
“People who are forced to leave their homes because of the war often need help resolving basic legal issues before they can move forward. This includes restoring lost documents, arranging pensions or other social payments, and opening bank accounts. I am always genuinely happy when we can do this quickly and support people on their way to safety and a new future,” says Liubov Vasylenko.
Liudmyla and her family now live in a dormitory in Zaporizhzhia. She would like to work, but her mother needs constant care, so that may not be possible right now. Liudmyla says her mother, who was born in 1941, has already seen one war and now she is living through another.
“I am very grateful for the help we received, because we arrived with nothing. At a time like this, we have to hold on and help each other. That is the only way we can get through it,” the woman says with emotion.
Legal assistance for the family was provided as part of the project “Comprehensive Support for Vulnerable Populations: From Rescue to Recovery,” implemented as part of the multi-donor initiative “Empowering War-Affected Communities in Ukraine through Local Initiatives (EMPOWER)”, in partnership with the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ).
📲 If you need legal assistance, contact the East SOS hotline: 0800 332 614 (Monday–Saturday, 8:00–18:00).
