EAST SOS Team in Dnipro and Kharkiv Brought Christmas Cheer to Evacuees Far from Home
Each of us has memories that warm the heart, like childhood drawings, photos with loved ones, or small cards once given to us with care and love. In times of peace, we rarely think about how much they matter. But in times of war, these little keepsakes become rays of light that help us hold on in the darkest moments.
For the fourth year in a row, the team of the East SOS Charity Foundation has been greeting evacuees from frontline areas who found themselves far from home during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Fleeing russia’s armed aggression, these people left their homes without knowing whether they would ever be able to return. During the holidays, we especially wanted to bring them New Year warmth and the belief that they are not alone.
In Dnipro, the team visited the Center for Social Adaptation of People with Disabilities run by the NGO Ocean of Good, as well as a shelter for evacuees supported by EAST SOS. In Kharkiv, our specialists visited a transit collective site of the Bez Mezh network, equipped by East SOS in partnership with the NGO Volunteer-68.
This year, 92 people received greeting cards made by children and adults in the Zatyshno Space support spaces in Vinnytsia, Kharkiv, and Mykolaiv, as well as by members of EAST SOS team members and their children in our Dnipro and Kyiv offices. Along with the cards, we gave people protective charms – knitted angels handcrafted by a visitor of Zatyshno Space in Zaporizhzhia.
We also prepared gifts that will be useful to people during their further resettlement: mugs for warm evenings spent over a cup of tea or coffee.
“These greetings, cards, and gifts reminded me of a piece of home warmth that is now far away. My heart feels a little calmer because you feel that someone cares about you, someone thought of you and did not forget to greet you,” shared Valentyna, an evacuee from Sloviansk.
Such moments unite people and become a small touch of a brighter future. They remind us of the comfort that can be created wherever there is support and love. We thank everyone who, together with the EAST SOS team, brings warmth back to where it is so deeply needed today.
