On the eve of the New Year holidays, the Stabilization Support Services Charitable Foundation distributed humanitarian kits to residents of Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, and Kherson regions. Assistance was provided to people with disabilities and those in need of adult diapers and diapers.
The kits included adult diapers, urological pads, absorbent diapers, wet wipes, liquid soap, shower gel, and body lotion. Today, such hygiene products are expensive, and it is very difficult to buy them in frontline areas, where pharmacies and shops are often closed. Therefore, the kits are specially designed for long-term use.
Oksana (name changed for security reasons) from the Zaporizhzhia region received a hygiene kit for her mother. Despite the snowstorm on the day of distribution, the woman came to receive assistance. Her mother has been ill for many years, is disabled, and uses a wheelchair to get around.
“My mother’s leg problems began a long time ago. We treated her for a long time, but as it turned out, it was all in vain. Recently, her blood pressure has been rising more and more often, her diabetes has worsened, and an ulcer has appeared on her sore leg. It has been a year since my mother has been able to walk. She can only move around with the help of a wheelchair. The thing is, my brother, her son, has been missing for several years. He went to war at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. We were all very worried about him and prayed for him. At one point, he simply stopped answering his phone, and then his phone turned off completely. We don’t know where he is or what happened to him. We don’t even know if he’s alive. He is not on the list of the dead — that is the only thing that gives us some hope. It was because of the constant stress and anxiety that my mother’s condition worsened, and she became bedridden,” — says Oksana.
She cares for her sick mother together with her father and three children. The whole family lives in a small village, almost 50 kilometers from the regional center. Oksana cannot buy the necessary hygiene products for her mother at a local store or pharmacy because such goods are not delivered there at all, and traveling to the city every time is very expensive and physically almost impossible.
“I have three children. My youngest daughter is only a year and a half old. I simply cannot physically leave them at home. They are still too young and cannot take care of themselves, and I simply cannot afford to buy everything they need. Therefore, I am very grateful to you for your help in providing such a necessary kit. We really needed it. We use it sparingly, so it will last us almost three months. Thank you for remembering people like my mother. People with limited mobility feel that they are useless to anyone, but you show that this is not the case,” — says Oksana gratefully.
Ms. Olena (name changed for security reasons) from the Mykolaiv region also received assistance from the Charitable Foundation. The woman herself has a disability, but despite her condition, she came to the distribution point to receive a hygiene kit for her mother.
“We really need this kind of help. We cannot afford to buy such hygiene products, but it is impossible to do without them. My mother has been ill for 8 years. She can hardly walk on her own. Sometimes, with support, she moves around the house, but most of the time she lies down. Therefore, diapers and adult diapers are our primary necessity,” — says the woman.
Ms. Olena takes care of her sick mother on her own. At the same time, she also has serious health problems.
“I am a person with a disability, I have cancer, and I recently underwent surgery. Therefore, it is very difficult for me to take care of my mother at the moment. A social worker who comes once a week helps our family a lot. The rest of the time, my children are with us. They are 13 and 11 years old, but they are our support and comfort. They bring what we need, support us, and cheer us up. It’s hard to live like this. We don’t have enough money for anything. Most of our money goes to medicine for me and my mother. Your help is like sunshine on a clear day. Seriously! It’s so nice when people help and care. Thank you very much from our whole family,” — emphasizes Ms. Olena.
In total, 300 residents of the Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions will receive hygiene kits for people with disabilities and people who need adult diapers and diapers. The next distribution of kits is scheduled for January for residents of the Kherson region.
This assistance was made possible as part of the implementation 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.
