Every trip by the mobile units begins on the road. Today, first thing in the morning, the mobile laundry unit is heading to the Snigurivka community in the Mykolaiv region. It is located nearly 70 kilometers from the regional capital. The journey there is not easy — it takes over an hour to drive. The road is full of potholes and ruts. Due to regular enemy shelling, the road surface, which was already in need of repair, has sustained significant damage. At the start of active hostilities, the community was under occupation and under constant enemy fire. And then another disaster struck — the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. The Ingulets River, which burst its banks, flooded many homes. Some of them were almost completely submerged. After the community was liberated in the fall of 2022, there was no electricity, water supply, or mobile service here for a long time. While most utilities have been restored, there are still problems with water.
“In the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions, almost all villages have water supply issues. In some places, it works intermittently due to power outages or shelling, but there are many villages where there is no water at all. Drinking water is delivered to residents in large barrels and bottles. Everyone can help themselves. But for household needs, water has to be carried from wells. It’s murky there and has a salty taste, so people have to let it settle in buckets for days before using it. It’s very difficult, and on top of that, the water is still dirty. That’s why the mobile laundry service really helps people. They can do their laundry and take a bath in peace. I see how happy they are when they come, and I’m glad myself that we can help them,” — says Olena Dubovenko, an assistant at the mobile laundry service.
Every time the mobile laundry service arrives, people wait from early morning and line up. After winter, there’s a lot of laundry, and everyone needs to get their clothes washed. So, after dropping off their items and registering, they go to work in their gardens, and from there they wait for the assistant’s call to pick up their freshly laundered clothes.
Among those who came today to wash their clothes is Ms. Natalia. This isn’t her first time using the mobile laundry service. She is a mother of six children. She doesn’t have her own washing machine. She says that as soon as she found out the mobile laundry unit was coming to the village, she was overjoyed.
“This is such a huge help for us—you can’t even imagine! In our village, the water isn’t suitable for drinking or household use at all. It’s murky, it smells bad—you can’t wash clothes properly or even wash yourself. When the mobile laundry service arrives, we’re the first in line. The kids get really dirty, and it’s hard to wash all their clothes on my own. No matter how hard I try, I can’t get the same results by hand as I do with a washing machine. I really want them to be clean and well-groomed. So thank you for this help from my whole family,” — says Natalia happily.
Typically, the mobile laundry service operates for up to 6 hours in a single community. During this time, up to 50 households are able to use the mobile laundry and shower facilities. All necessary work is carried out by assistants. In addition, anyone who wishes to take a shower while their clothes are being washed is provided with a hygiene kit: shower gel, shampoo, and soap.
Over the course of the project’s first year, more than 25,000 residents of the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions have already received our assistance and were able to wash their clothes and take a shower for free.
The mobile complex operates as part of a project implemented by the charitable organization Stabilization Support Services Charitable Foundation and the German humanitarian organization Sign of Hope with financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO).