The Story of Valentyna from Oleksandrivka (Donetsk Oblast), Whose Home Was Restored by East SOS After a russian Attack
Valentyna is 76. Four years ago, she lost her husband, and later, after a stroke, her son passed away. Today, she lives with her daughter, Tetiana. Her granddaughter and great-grandchildren from Dnipro support her and call her every day.
Valentyna worked all her life as a librarian, and later supervised rural libraries. Now, she loves taking care of her household: tending her garden and flowers. Apple trees, currants, raspberries, and gooseberries grow in her garden, while chickens and ducklings live in the enclosures.
“I keep myself busy so I don’t just sit around,” Valentyna smiles.
At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the family hoped the danger would pass quickly and stayed home in Oleksandrivka. But on the night of March 13, 2026, another russian attack damaged their home. The blast shattered a wall, broke all the windows, covered the house in glass fragments, and bent the front door.
“That was a pain that stayed with us. It was dark outside, a neighbor’s house was on fire, and everything in ours was destroyed. Getting out was very hard,” she recalled.
A few days later, the East SOS construction team arrived and over three days repaired the house: repaired the slate roof, replaced the damaged window panes, and insulated the attic floor.
“Our deepest gratitude to the team. We could not have managed this destruction ourselves – neither physically nor financially,” said Valentyna.
Since 2023, the East SOS team has helped restore 1,700 homes in Donetsk and Kharkiv oblasts.
If you also need assistance restoring a home damaged during hostilities in the Izium or Lozova raions, and in the Barvinkove or Buznykiv hromadas (Kharkiv Oblast), as well as in the Oleksandrivka hromada (Donetsk Oblast), contact our call center Monday through Saturday at: 0 800 332 614 (8:00 am – 6:00 pm).
The repair works are being carried out as part of the project “Comprehensive Humanitarian Assistance to Conflict-Affected Ukrainians and Third-Country Nationals in Ukraine, Poland, Romania, and Moldova,” with the support of Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe and funding from the German Federal Foreign Office.
Recently, the East SOS team restored Maria’s home in Bashilivka, Kharkiv Oblast, which had been damaged in a russian attack.
