Four years ago, 60-year-old Lyubov Bondar and her family, fleeing shelling in Toretsk in the Donetsk region, settled in the Kirovohrad region. Almost 30 kilometers from the regional center is the village of Zelene of the Kompaniivska community. Here, a shelter was equipped in the premises of a former school. Today, three dozen internally displaced people live there.
For more than a year, the regional team of Rokada has been taking care of the temporary residence. First, it helped to repair the bathroom, provided the facility with household appliances, and recently equipped an additional well.
«The old well doesn’t always have enough water for all our needs. So the second one was simply necessary. You see, if we turn on the washing machines and someone is also doing something in the kitchen, then there is not enough water for everything», Lyubov Ivanivna added.
Nataliya Saprykina, an engineer at the regional office of Rokada, added that the refugee shelter is also supported by the community.
«We have good experience of cooperation. The community always joins our initiatives whenever possible and responds to people’s needs. For example, the foundation provided equipment, and the locals provided the connection», she said.
Lyubov Ivanovna added that most of the people in the shelter are pensioners. The social benefits they receive are mainly spent on food and medicine.
«My husband and I also take care of my mother – she is already over ninety. We share a common budget. If we hadn’t all been together, I don’t even know how we would have survived, because a significant part of the money goes to medicine. And they are constantly getting more expensive», she said.
Behind the building, the residents have cultivated small plots. The range of vegetables is insignificant – sorrel, dill, parsley…
Lyubov Bondar shows her garden plot. The sorrel is doing the best—it has grown incredibly thick and green.
«Rokada also gave us garden tools, so it is easier to work in the garden», she added.
