In November, East SOS evacuated 223 people with the support of the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF)
Frontline communities in eastern Ukraine face daily danger due to continuous russian shelling. For many civilians, evacuation remains the only way to save their lives and reach safety.
In November, the East SOS team assisted 223 people in evacuating from high-risk areas with the financial support of the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF). Among those evacuated were residents of settlements that are under constant attack, including Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka, Sloviansk, and Rayhorodok in the Donetsk region, as well as Chaplyne in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
One of those rescued was 82-year-old Raisa Mykolayivna from Druzhkivka. For her, evacuation was the only chance to preserve her life and dignity.
Raisa Mykolayivna spent her entire life in her home – the place where she grew up and raised her children. Over the past twenty years, her circumstances changed dramatically: severe pain in her legs limited her mobility, and walking became nearly impossible.
As hostilities intensified, her sons contacted the East SOS hotline, and our evacuation team helped her leave the city.
“Home is not just a yard and walls. It is my whole life that I have lived there. I left because I had to, but I believe that a time of peace and safety will come,” Raisa says.
She dedicated her entire life to working at a plant, building her career step by step. She began as a loader, later worked on machinery, became a slinger, and eventually specialized in metal cutting.
Her life was marked by hardship and resilience. At just 37, Raisa Mykolaivna lost her husband and raised two children on her own. Today, she speaks of them with pride – both have stable jobs and established lives.
Currently, Raisa Mykolaivna is temporarily residing at the Center for Social Adaptation for People with Disabilities run by the NGO “Ocean of Good” in Dnipro. The East SOS team arranged her placement there while continuing to search for permanent housing. At the center, she receives psychosocial and legal support, and the foundation remains engaged in assisting her with long-term accommodation.
These activities are carried out as part of the project “Comprehensive Support and Protection of Vulnerable Categories of Evacuees”, implemented by East SOS with the financial support of the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF).
East SOS, together with the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, provided medical support to 20 evacuees with disabilities.
