In recent days, part of the LAODP team has been working in the communities of the Kharkiv region to implement the humanitarian project “Pathways to Integration: Humanitarian Response in Ukraine”. As part of this project, we create conditions for receiving financial assistance, facilitate the repair of damaged housing, and provide legal and psychological support to the most vulnerable categories of citizens from the frontline communities of Donetsk and Kharkiv oblasts.

During the visit, we held meetings with government officials; talked to those who directly provide social services on the ground and those who receive these services. Every day we see with our own eyes how difficult it is for people to live in conditions of total danger.

Our visit to the Kharkiv region was a thoughtful and conscious step. We understood the risks involved. However, our confidence in the necessity of our mission and the desire to help those in need outweighed any fears. But none of us could have foreseen what we had to go through. Right during our stay in the Dergachiv community, an enemy attack took place. Explosions were heard in the immediate vicinity of us. We once again witnessed the grave consequences of enemy shelling. But our determination to help those in need has not waned.

It is very important that this time we had psychologists from our project with us. It is obvious that people living under constant stress need professional psychological support. Our psychologist worked with local residents to help them manage the stress, anxiety, and emotional burden that accompany difficult life situations and military conflicts.

We are sincerely grateful to our partners - Solidar Suisse (Switzerland) and Solidar Suisse Ukraine charitable foundations - for the opportunity to continue helping those who need it most.