At the end of 2023, Olena Kratash, an engineer with 13 years of experience in construction, joined the team of the Charity Foundation “Stabilization Support Services”.
Before the full-scale invasion, she used to work with design organizations that reconstructed residential buildings. After February 24, 2022, she started working on housing reconstruction. First, she went to the liberated Kyivska Oblast, and now she helps residents of her native Mykolaiv and the surrounding oblast.
Currently, Olena is working on light and medium repairs as part of the program Addressing the Immediate Multi-Sectoral Humanitarian Needs of IDPs and Conflict-Affected Populations Inside Ukraine.
— “Seeing the results of your work and the joy in people’s eyes is amazing. We were in the village of Liubomyrivka, where we were making roofs for people. There, we saw that the houses were covered with tarpaulins and had been for a long time. I saw happy people when the reconstruction process began, which inspired me. Thanks to the new roofs, people will be able to continue rebuilding their homes,” says Elena.
The engineer noted that she found it most difficult to see so many damaged buildings and hear the stories of people who had survived the shelling and occupation, hiding in basements, and were still deprived of their homes.
— “It shouldn’t be like this. People have been saving up for years to buy their own homes. It is tragic that now they may be left without anything. That’s why they need our help. Especially the elderly, who no longer have either health or large pensions.”
To get in the working spirit, Olena likes to spend her free time with her family, who help her recover and fill up on positive energy and inspiration.
— “My child is 11 years old and studies online, so I spend even more time with her: I help her with her homework, we make various crafts together, we like to stroll around the city, and it’s awesome.”
Providing Multi-Sectoral Humanitarian Assistance to Conflict-Affected Populations in Ukraine project is implemented by CF SSS in cooperation with the humanitarian organization CARE and the Response Consortium. The program is funded by the USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA).
