“Anyone who needs clothes or shoes can come here and take them for free”: Rokada set up a clothing bank in Volyn

In the former Batkivshchyna cinema in the centre of Kamin-Kashyrskyi, the Rokada team, together with the local authorities and the IDP Council, has set up a clothing bank. The space is small, but from the very first days it has been filled with clothes and shoes. Caring residents bring items in good condition, and people who need them come and take them. Everything is free.

Rokada specialist Olena Kuzmych says the clothing bank is mainly intended for internally displaced Ukrainians who have lost everything and are now settling in the community. However, local residents will also be able to use the service in the future. 

“There are no restrictions. The clothing bank opened at the end of April. On the set days – Tuesday and Thursday – up to ten people come here on average. They can choose the items they need – there are clothes for adults and children. Yes, the clothes and shoes are second-hand, but the main condition for people bringing them is that they must be clean and in good condition. In this way we help residents and give things a second life, which is environmentally friendly,” Olena Kuzmych explains the idea, adding that the clothing bank aims not only to meet the basic needs of internally displaced people but also to strengthen mutual support in the community.

About five hundred internally displaced Ukrainians currently live in Kamin-Kashyrskyi. The IDP Council deals with protecting their rights, integration and support. The body was established in December 2023 and is headed by Iryna Panina.

IDP Council representative Vita Karpik notes that it was the cooperation of all parties that became a solid foundation for implementing the initiative.

“We managed to establish constructive cooperation with the city authorities, and this was an important step for developing the IDP Council’s initiatives. Together with partners, in particular the Rokada Charitable Foundation, we are working to ensure that internally displaced people are not left alone with their difficulties but feel support, involvement and the opportunity to be part of the community. These premises had been empty for several years. It took us eight months to turn the idea into a real project,” says Vita Karpik.

Rokada’s team in Volyn has been providing comprehensive support to IDP Councils for several years. The Foundation’s specialists act as mentors and help strengthen the influence of this advisory body in communities.

“We support internally displaced Ukrainians who take an active civic position and strive for quality change in their new communities. In essence, we give them an incentive for a new start, help them develop ties with the local population, and unite them with shared ideas and a desire to make decisions at the local level,” explains Rokada lawyer Veronika Olshevska, who helped create the clothing bank as part of an advocacy initiative.

In total, 18 IDP Councils operate in Volyn. The region is among the six regions that have seen the largest increase in internally displaced Ukrainians since the full-scale invasion. Slightly more than 40,000 residents of the temporarily occupied territories have settled here.

The clothing bank was created as part of advocacy under a project of the International Renaissance Foundation.