For Mrs. Kateryna from the village of Afanasiivka in the Mykolaiv region, today is a really good day. The mobile laundry and shower complex has come to their village again, and that means only one thing — their clothes will be washed thoroughly, and their children will be bathed.
“Oh, we’ve been waiting so long! Finally, you’ve come back to us. We’ve collected whole bags of clothes. Now we’ll take them to be washed. My daughter recognizes your car from afar and says you are ‘laundry on wheels’. She always rushes to be first, afraid she won’t make it in time. The mobile complex is a great help to our family. It’s fast, high-quality, and most importantly, free,” — says Kateryna.
The young woman has two small children. Her younger son is 3 months old, and her older daughter is 5 years old. The family does not have a washing machine, so keeping the family clean is a real challenge for Kateryna.
“There are so many children’s clothes that need to be washed constantly. Especially for the youngest ones. It’s very difficult to wash everything by hand. To wash once, you have to bring water, let it settle well, because it’s murky in our village. Then you have to heat it up in pots, wash everything, and rinse it. But when you have two children around, try to keep up with everything. By the time you’ve washed and dried one load, the other has gotten dirty. It’s a never-ending cycle, and I can’t keep up with them. I get very tired. My husband and I have thought about saving up money to buy a washing machine, but we’re afraid it will break down very quickly. We have very big problems with water in our village,” — says the woman.
Before the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant was blown up and the village of Afanasiivka was flooded, the water was very good. But after the terrible events of June 2023, everything changed. At that time, the island village was almost completely submerged. The Ingulets River overflowed its banks and flooded 75 buildings. Some houses were almost completely submerged. People carried their belongings, possessions, and animals out on their hands. Kateryna’s family was very lucky. The floodwaters did not reach their house. The garden was flooded, but the water stopped at the threshold.
“When I remember it, tears come to my eyes again. It was so scary. My daughter was still very young at the time, and the water was rising so quickly. We didn’t even know what to do or where to hide. The village was flooded on all sides. It was impossible to leave by car because the road was under water. We saw our neighbors’ houses going under. People had their lives, and in an instant, it was taken away. Everything they had disappeared before their eyes. My husband was very upset. He tried to save at least something. He rolled up the carpets and rugs, carried out the furniture and whatever appliances we had,” — recalls Kateryna with tears in her eyes.
We either have no water at all, or it flows like compote. Only wells save us, but there are not many of them.
Today, the village of Afanasiivka has no access to drinking water at all. Water is brought to residents in large barrels, and everyone can fill their jugs or buckets. Water for domestic needs is easier to come by, but because it is contaminated, people cannot fully meet all their needs.
“We usually have no water at all, or it flows like compote. Not only is it undrinkable, but you can’t wash, cook, or do laundry with it. Only wells save us, but there aren’t many of them. Try applying that much with your hands. And now they’ve started turning off the lights a lot. We sit without electricity for up to 16 hours a day. I have electric heating in my house. When there is no electricity, it is so cold in the house that we don’t know what to wear to keep warm. That’s why the mobile complex is a real lifesaver for us. We can do our laundry and wash ourselves. They always give us clean clothes that smell nice. It seems like a small thing at first glance, but it warms our hearts and makes us happy to know that someone cares about us and hasn’t forgotten us. We are very grateful,” — emphasizes Kateryna.
The mobile complex 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).