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Home for Elderly Ukrainians

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UPDATE: The elderly  are now safely in their new home. Thanks to all of our supporters, we've raised enough for the downpayment to secure the permanent house; but we still need more to ensure we complete the remaining payment by the end of 2017.  Please contribute however much you can so that the elderly and disabled IDPs do not have to lose yet another home.

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Nina Michailovna, Alchevsk, Luhansk region, Ukraine.

Watching 74-year-old Nina and her friends as they reminisce in the living room of a group house on the edge of Kyiv, you’re almost convinced that you’re looking at normal senior citizens in the security of their home. But while they may be busy trying to make the most of what’s left of their lives, there’s nothing secure about their past—or their immediate future.

Your donation will help change that by providing the abandoned elderly and disabled Ukrainians with a place they can call home.

There were 64 of them, living comfortably in a center for elderly in Alchevsk, a town near the eastern border of Ukraine, when the Russian Cossacks occupied their property and began looting it. For their safety, local volunteers headed by Oleg Gorbachev evacuated as many as possible and transported them to the space where they are now. “I was asked by local priests if I wanted to go to Kyiv,” recalls Victor, another center resident. “I told them, why not. I would go anywhere not to hear shelling anymore.” A native of Pisky, Donetsk region, 76-year-old Victor spent almost a year in the basement, hiding from shelling.


Victor, Peski, Donetsk Region, Ukraine.


Only 23 elder men and women made it to Kyiv. When they got to this place, Nina, Victor, and their friends briefly allowed themselves to hope that this was it—the chance to live out the rest of their days in peace and security. Instead they found themselves threatened with eviction.

On April 15 they are being moved once again to a temporary space. But what they really need is a permanent home. They found a place large enough to house them, but don't have the money to buy it. With your help, we hope to raise $55,000, which is what they need. The first $10,000 will be used as the down payment to move in while the remaining funds can be paid throughout the next few months to complete the purchase.

Your compassion and generosity will make a real impact for the elderly internally displaced persons, who have already been through a lot, to avoid constant disruption. Please donate now so that Nina, Victor, and their friends can regain the lost sense of peace and security and live out their lives in a place they can call home. Every little bit helps.


Alina Ruzmetova, the organizer of this campaign, is a U.S.-based volunteer working with the displaced elderly community in Ukraine. USA for UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency  will be making the grant to help this community through this campaign.

Donations 

  • Korina Kempf
    • $30 
    • 7 yrs

Organizer and beneficiary

Alina Ruzmetova
Organizer
Washington D.C., DC
Yelena Bakaleva
Beneficiary

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