People with disabilities, individuals with reduced mobility, and solitary pensioners relied on external assistance even in peacetime, and during the war, their needs have only increased. That is why our Foundation’s team supports those working daily with the most vulnerable population groups — in communities, hubs, shelters, and hospitals. This month, three organizations operating in Zaporizhzhia received hygiene kits as part of the Lifesaving: Protection, Shelter, and WASH for War-Affected Regions project.
“Our team regularly receives requests from local organizations, and we try to respond. Recently, we handed over 380 individual kits (hygiene, women’s, and for people with special needs) to the organizations Artak, Ya — Mariupol, and the Same Tut space. They distributed this aid among local residents and IDPs who often cannot afford to buy necessities on their own due to financial difficulties,” says Oksana Levada, the Foundation’s regional coordinator in Zaporizka Oblast.
The kits contain both basic care items (soap, shampoo, towels, toothpaste and brush, sanitary pads) and specialized goods for individuals requiring additional care, including underpads, diapers, and special creams.
Yuliia Dresviannikova, Head of the Ya — Mariupol Support and Assistance Center in Zaporizhzhia, notes that people are in great need of such kits. The institution has been working with IDPs from occupied Mariupol and the district since 2022 — among them, there are many people with disabilities and needs for constant care.
“At our center, we constantly distribute food packages, but the situation with hygiene and specialized kits is much more difficult. In Zaporizhzhia, unfortunately, few work specifically in this direction, so such assistance is very timely,” explains Yuliia.
At the same time, she emphasizes that it is particularly valuable that the support covered various groups: bedridden people, individuals with special needs, as well as women, who do not always come into the focus of donor programs.
“Donors mostly focus on low-income families affected by the war. However, your Foundation also took special care of women. They were extremely grateful for this assistance because the women’s kits contain high-quality essential items that not everyone can afford to buy in difficult life circumstances,” remarks Yuliia Dresviannikova.
The project is implemented by the Charity Foundation “Stabilization Support Services” in partnership with the humanitarian organization Malteser International, with the support of Aktion Deutschland Hilft.
