Spanish photojournalist José Colón Visited the Social Adaptation Center for People with Disabilities Operated by the NGO Ocean of Good in Dnipro
The center provides temporary shelter for people rescued from danger by East SOS evacuation teams. Since 2024, José has been joining the foundation’s evacuation missions, documenting the forced displacement of Ukrainians from frontline areas that russia continues to devastate.
During this visit, the photographer documented the stories of elderly people and people with disabilities evacuated from shelling in the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and other regions with the support of humanitarian missions.
After long periods spent in frontline communities – often without heating, access to medical care, and under constant stress – people’s physical and psycho-emotional conditions significantly deteriorate. Many of them will no longer be able to live independently and will require long-term care and support.
At the center, evacuees receive round-the-clock assistance from specialists and access to medical care. The East SOS team also provides psychosocial support, helps restore documents, and works to identify long-term accommodation options. When there are not enough available places in supported housing or care institutions, centers like this provide evacuees with something essential – safety, care, and dignified living conditions.
In his photographs, José Colón captures the everyday life of people who have finally found safety: rooms that have become temporary homes, library shelves filled with books, a dining room where a sense of comfort and support grows around a shared table, and physical exercise classes that help sustain not only the body but also the will to live.
See the photographer’s selection of images. His work goes beyond photojournalism – it is a testimony to human dignity that helps the world see the true losses brought by war. These are faces marked by fatigue and pain, yet they also reflect resilience and the quiet light of Ukrainian hope – a light that does not fade despite the darkness the enemy has brought to our land.
