Helping residents rebuild their homes after the war is one of the project’s main goals. That is why a social hub operates in the city of Mykolaiv. It is a space where people can not only repair their belongings on their own or rent various tools, but also, if needed, call a repair specialist to their home for minor repairs.
In the nearly one year since the social hub began operating, more than 4,000 residents of Mykolaiv Oblast have used its services. Of these, 1,100 people received assistance from our technicians who make house calls. Upon prior request, a hub specialist comes to the home and handles minor household repairs.
Ms. Lyudmila has turned to the social workshop for help on multiple occasions. She is an internally displaced person; currently retired, she is raising four grandchildren on her own. As a result, it is very difficult for her to handle all household issues.
“We’ve called the repairmen about five times now. They helped us with things that seem simple at first glance: assembling a wardrobe, nailing up shelves, installing new door locks, and securing a showerhead so it wouldn’t fall on someone’s head. It’s the kind of work I can’t do on my own, and there’s no one to ask for help. My husband passed away six months ago. Before that, we overcame all our problems together, side by side. Now I’m adjusting to a new city and a new life on my own, and I have to set up a new ”home ”— the woman says.
Lyudmila, her husband, and their four grandchildren moved to Mykolaiv back in 2023 from the village of Komyshany in the Kherson region. Packing only the bare essentials, they tried to take the children to a safer place.
“Our village was under occupation for about eight months. You wouldn’t wish what we went through there on anyone. I was so scared for the children. Every day I prayed that they would stay alive. When our village was liberated from Russian troops, we gathered our things together and left. At first we lived in a boarding school, and then they gave us a room and we moved into a dormitory. It’s a bit cramped, but better than under gunfire,” — the woman shares her story.
Lyudmila has been the official guardian of her three granddaughters, aged 15, 13, and 9, and her 11-year-old grandson for several years now. She devotes all her strength, energy, and resources to raising the children.
“Life has turned out this way: I’m the only one looking after my grandchildren now. They are my joy and my rays of sunshine. I want to give them the best I can. Starting this year, I transferred the children from their old school, where they were studying remotely, to a middle school. Now they go to class, see their peers, and socialize—and that’s very important to them. My older granddaughter plans to apply to college, so she spends a lot of time studying. Together, we’re trying our best to set up our new home and make it comfortable so everyone feels at ease. To be honest, though, it’s very difficult. I have neither the health, nor the funds, nor the tools, nor even the experience to fix a faucet or tighten a screw. The only thing saving us is the hub. It’s great that there’s someone to turn to and ask for help. The craftsmen are professional and resourceful; they came and quickly fixed and put everything together. I can’t even imagine what we and the children would have done without you and the social workshop. It’s so important that people like us, who have lost practically everything we had, have someone to turn to,” — Lyudmila emphasizes gratefully.
The Mykolaiv Social Hub 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).
