Nearly 250 minor repairs have been completed on homes in Kherson that were damaged due to hostilities. These repairs were carried out as part of the Lifesaving Shelter, MPCA, SRH, and Protection Assistance for Conflict-Affected Communities in Rural Hromadas in Mykolaivska and Khersonska Oblasts project. The project helps prepare people for the winter, and we greatly appreciate it for that. However, in some households, repairs are still ongoing.
For example, Valentyna (name changed for security reasons) is currently having her roof and windows repaired, which were damaged after a missile strike hit her property.
“A missile hit my yard on Christmas. I was in a nearby church at the time, and that saved me. Everyone who was there with me, from the youngest to the oldest, came to help afterward. Everyone got soaked. We patched the roof with old slate and plastic sheeting, and the windows were boarded up with plywood,” Valentyna shares.
She also tells us that the stress she endured, along with the constant darkness due to the boarded-up windows and power outages, has severely affected her eyesight, which continues to worsen.
“All this time, when I wake up in my own bedroom, I can’t tell whether it’s night, evening, or morning, and that’s very difficult. My house is mostly dark. My eyesight is getting worse, but honestly, what hurts me more is that people around me are dying,” Valentyna confides. “But I’m very happy that my roof is being repaired now, because I won’t be afraid of the rains and winter anymore.”
The assistance provided to Ms. Valentyna and many other families was made possible through the Lifesaving Shelter, MPCA, SRH, and Protection Assistance for Conflict-Affected Communities in Rural Hromadas in Mykolaivska and Khersonska Oblasts project, which is being implemented by the CO CF SSS in collaboration with the international humanitarian organization CARE, with support from the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund.