From Rescue to Recovery: East SOS Launches New Project with Support from the German Government and the EU
EMPOWER is a multi-donor project that supports Ukrainian hromadas (communities) by funding local initiatives and strengthening the capacity of organizations working with people affected by the war.
Within this project, East SOS is launching a comprehensive support program for elderly people, persons with disabilities, and the staff of residential care facilities.
The East SOS team supports people through every stage of their journey to safety, from the first contact to the call center to finding a safe place to live and providing ongoing assistance. To us, every story and every life matters.
The project includes:
- Call center operations;
- Evacuation and social transportation, including assistance with access to medical and state services;
- Psychosocial support and legal aid;
- Repair and setup of temporary housing;
- Implementation of inclusive standards through training for staff at residential care facilities;
- Conducting training sessions on mental health support techniques for residential care home staff.
The EMPOWER project combines the evacuation of lonely seniors and people with disabilities affected by russian aggression from frontline areas with long-term support for the caregivers who look after them in their new homes.
“Our work goes beyond addressing the immediate impact of war and includes strengthening the capacity of hromadas so that support follows people long after evacuation, helping them truly settle into their new host hromadas,” said Kostiantyn Shapovalov, project manager at East SOS.
This project is aimed at ensuring that that people are not left to face the challenges of war alone, while providing hromadas with the tools for recovery and development. It is a step towards greater resilience, dignity, and security for those who need it the most.
The activities are carried out under the project “Empowering War-Affected Communities in Ukraine through Local Initiatives (EMPOWER)”, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) together with the EU, and implemented by GIZ Ukraine.
