Dnipropetrovsk region. Rozdory and Vasylkivka.

When you plan a trip, everything looks structured — the list of recipients, logistics, equipment checks, routes. From the outside, it looks like the organisation of a process. Inside, there is always more.

In Vasylkivka, you don't read about the war in the news — you hear it. It is close by. And even when you try to focus on the task at hand, your body reacts to every muffled sound in the air.

Anti-drone nets hang over the roads. They stretch over courtyards, streets, and open spaces. They are a security measure and, at the same time, a constant reminder that danger is part of everyday life here.

We arrived with technical rehabilitation and care equipment — wheelchairs, rollators, walkers, crutches, canes, toilet chairs and shower chairs. It's not just a matter of ‘handing them out.’ Each delivery involves a conversation, clarification, review of conditions, and selection of the right equipment for the person. It is important that the device not only exists, but actually works in everyday life.

For some, this means getting out of bed on their own.

For others, it means getting to the kitchen without assistance.

For others, it means regaining some dignity.

But this time, it wasn't the things that stood out the most.

What I remember most are the eyes of people who live alone. They accept help cautiously, sometimes reluctantly, but then they start talking. About their daily lives. About their fears. About the silence in their homes. And it becomes clear that it is not just the product that is important to them. It is important to them that someone enters their space and sees them.

We don't rush. We listen.

And in these moments, you realise that sometimes the greatest support is simply being there. When you sit next to someone and give them the opportunity to speak. When they feel that they have not been erased from the map of life.

Despite the proximity of the front line, people here speak calmly. Without unnecessary words. ‘We are holding on, we are hoping,’ they say. And in this simple phrase, there is great inner strength.

We completed the entire plan. Everything was delivered to the right places.

But we returned with the understanding that humanitarian aid is not just boxes and equipment.

It is about trust.

About humanity.

About staying together in the most difficult conditions.

And that is what keeps us going.

We left, and they stayed.

And that stays with us...

The trip took place as part of the project

‘Protection, health care and inclusion of vulnerable populations in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions’

with the support of the Humanitarian Fund for Ukraine (UHF)

and in partnership with Volontariato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo.