When Help Is Literally in Your Blood

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When Help Is Literally in Your Blood

Today, the team of the Luhansk Association of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (LAOPD) joined the “Rotary Saves Lives” Blood Donor Day in Kharkiv. Blood donation is one of those cases where just a few minutes of your time can give someone a chance to recover, undergo a vital operation, or sometimes — quite literally — a chance to live. Especially now, during the war, the need for donated blood remains constant. We believe there are many ways to help: through our work, knowledge, volunteering, and supporting others. And another way is to become a blood donor, if your health allows. Today, a mark representing LAOPD was added to the symbolic donor board. Behind each such drop is more than just 450 ml of donated blood. It may represent a life saved. We thank the organizers of this initiative and everyone who donated blood in Kharkiv today. Because sometimes, to make a big difference, all you need to do is simply extend your arm.

11.09.2026

Аccessibility at Events: What Organizers Need to Consider

When organizing conferences, forums, training sessions, or other public events, we often see the same mistake: accessibility is reduced to the presence of individual technical solutions. There is a ramp or a lift — so the venue is considered accessible. In reality, this is only one of many elements. The recent experience of Mykola Nadulichnyi, Head of the Luhansk Association of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (LAOPD), at Urban Mobility Forum 2026 in Lviv once again demonstrated that problems arise when organizers fail to consider the participant’s entire barrier-free journey. A person should be able to independently: •⁠ ⁠find the registration desk and the appropriate conference room; •⁠ ⁠move between different levels and areas of the venue; •⁠ ⁠access up-to-date information about the programme; •⁠ ⁠use restrooms, catering areas, and other facilities; •⁠ ⁠have access to a comfortable place to rest; •⁠ ⁠receive information in accessible formats. It is equally important to consider the needs of people with hearing and visual impairments. Visual duplication of information, Ukrainian Sign Language interpretation, clear navigation, and solutions that enable independent orientation should be planned before the event begins — not after a participant has already encountered a barrier. Another important principle: staff assistance cannot replace accessibility. It is good to have someone nearby who is ready to help. But a participant should not have to repeatedly ask someone to lift them, guide them, bring them a cup of coffee, or explain where they need to go. Accessibility means being able to remain as independent as possible. That is why accessibility should be planned just as carefully as the event programme, stage, catering, or communications. Because inclusion does not begin with words written in a forum programme. It begins with the experience of the person who comes to that forum.

09.09.2026

From Launch to Joint Action: Project Partners Hold Kick-Off Meeting to Support IDPs

The team of the Luhansk Association of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities took part in the kick-off meeting of partners implementing the new humanitarian project, “Integrated Protection, Health Assistance and Inclusion for Vulnerable Newly Displaced Persons, Internally Displaced Persons and Other Particularly Vulnerable Population Groups in Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk Regions.” The project is already underway, so the meeting focused primarily on how the partners will work together in the coming months. Representatives of the partner organizations introduced their teams and areas of work and discussed in detail the project components, division of responsibilities, and mechanisms for coordination and cooperation. Particular attention was paid to practical matters, including coordination of activities within communities, administrative and financial procedures, as well as the safety of teams working in regions where the security situation remains challenging. An important part of the meeting was sharing experience from previous joint initiatives. The partners discussed which approaches have already proven effective, what lessons should be taken into account, and how to make assistance even more accessible to people who need it. For the Luhansk Association of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities, meetings like this are, above all, an opportunity to align the partners’ work from the very beginning, so that each area of activity functions as part of a single coordinated mechanism and the necessary support reaches people in communities in a timely manner. The agreements have been documented, responsibilities defined, and the teams are ready to move forward. The next step is to implement the planned activities directly in the communities. The project is supported by the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF) and implemented by the Luhansk Association of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (LAOPD) and Volontariato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo (VIS).

08.09.2026