The building on Peremohy Street in Okhtyrka, Sumy region, was damaged by a missile strike in March 2022. The explosion damaged some of the two-storey building’s structures, shredded the roof and blew out the windows. The 14 families living there needed help.
At first, people responded to the damage on their own – they patched the roof with plastic sheeting and covered the stairwell windows with OSB boards. Neither the residents nor the community had money for major repairs and restoration.
In 2023, the Okhtyrka City Council and Rokada began cooperating and signed a memorandum providing for the restoration of housing and assistance to residents whose buildings, flats and households were damaged by Russian shelling.
Last year, under these agreements, local residents and officials asked the Foundation for help in restoring the building on Peremohy Street. Rokada engineers inspected the building and started repairs.
“There are 16 flats in the building. Those on the first floor suffered the most, as the roof was hanging by a thread, as they say. We completely replaced the roof, replaced the windows and doors in the stairwell and did the interior finishing,” says Andrii Olshanskyi, engineer at Rokada’s Sumy office.
Ivan Havrysh has lived in the building all his life. He remembers the beginning of the full-scale invasion and that March, when an enemy missile exploded very close to the building.
“It was terrifying – words can’t describe it… I live on the ground floor. Thank God, I don’t even know how we survived… Nobody left the building, because there was no way to. We covered the roof and boarded up the windows ourselves as best we could…” he says.
Iryna Smyrnova is Ivan Mykolaiovych’s neighbour. Her family bought a flat after the explosion. She admits that she wanted to knock on every door just to get the building restored.
“We looked for any opportunity to restore the building: we applied, asked and waited. And finally, our wait was over. All the residents sincerely thank Rokada for the help. Without your support, nothing would have happened. Thank you for your care, humanity and real action,” she adds.
Ivan Havrysh kept an eye on the repairs the whole time. He is satisfied with the result. He accepted the work together with the Rokada team and community officials.
“On behalf of the entire Okhtyrka community, we express our sincere gratitude to the teams of the Rokada Charitable Foundation and UNHCR for their help in restoring the housing stock. Thanks to quality materials and professional work, the building has become better, more modern and more comfortable. Your support means bringing comfort and safety back to Okhtyrka residents’ homes,” the city council said.
In total, since 2022, Rokada’s team in Sumy region has restored and helped refurbish more than 120 houses.
“The region suffers from enemy shelling every day. We respond quickly to people’s requests and help them not only with building materials and repairs but also with comprehensive psychological, legal and social support. This is our mission – to be there, to be a shoulder to lean on, and sometimes the last hope. I never stop thanking our partner, UNHCR, for its systematic assistance,” concludes Valentyna Ihnatusha, coordinator of the regional office.
