Life near the front lines is a daily struggle. Due to constant shelling and severe damage to infrastructure, the centralized water supply there is either completely unavailable or operates with significant interruptions. For many people, ordinary drinking water has become a true luxury and a matter of survival. To drink or prepare food for their families, they often have to count every drop.
That is why the distribution of drinking water to residents of frontline regions is a critically important charitable effort, one that the Stabilization Support Services Charitable Foundation has been providing for several years now.
“The drinking water crisis in frontline regions began after the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam, which caused a massive environmental disaster. Water levels in many settlements rose sharply, water sources became contaminated, and clean drinking water became scarce. Today, many settlements are completely without water. People are forced to constantly think about where to get water and what to do if it runs out. It is especially difficult for people with limited mobility or families with small children. Without water, a person can survive for an average of 3–4 days, up to 100 hours under ideal conditions. In the frontline zone, every drop of water is worth its weight in gold. That is why our goal is, as much as possible, to provide drinking water to residents of frontline territories. This is not just charitable aid, but a matter of survival and national security,” — emphasizes Yuriy Slyusarenko, coordinator of the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) program.
In total, as part of this project, the Charitable Foundation plans to distribute nearly 10,000 bottles of water. Residents of the Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, and Kherson regions will be eligible to receive this aid. Each person will be able to receive two bottles. The bottles have a capacity of 6 liters each.
“To provide people with drinking water, we chose the most optimal method—delivering and distributing bottled water. First, it guarantees quality, since all bottles are hermetically sealed. And second, it significantly speeds up the water distribution process and avoids large crowds, unlike the lines at water trucks, which are vulnerable targets for enemy artillery and drones. A supply of bottled water is like an “emergency kit” that you can grab instantly during a sudden evacuation or shelling and take with you. It’s a supply that won’t spill or spoil over a long period of time,” — emphasizes Yuriy Slyusarenko.
To determine which settlements in frontline communities need drinking water the most, the project’s regional coordinators have conducted a detailed needs assessment over the past few months. Based on their calculations and identified needs, the first water distribution is scheduled for late March. Our team plans to distribute nearly 2,600 bottles in settlements across Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, and Kherson regions. Subsequent water distributions in these regions are scheduled for April and May.
Assistance is provided as part of the project “Lifesaving response to protection concerns and humanitarian needs of conflict affected people in the South and South-East of Ukraine” is implemented by the Stabilization Support Services Charitable Foundation in partnership with the international humanitarian organization CARE, with financial support from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.