Lyubov Demeshko lives in Staryi Saltiv, a small village not far from the Ukrainian-Russian border. The first bombs fell here shortly after the war began, destroying most of the houses in the village.
Lyubov and her family's house, like so many others, was damaged in the attacks. Lyubov and her family's house, like so many others, was damaged in the attacks. “My husband came running and said that the war had started. Then we saw the drones and we all hid in the cellar,” she recalls. A short time later, the family fled Staryj Saltiw. Her grandchildren were terrified. They had to wear bulletproof vests and helmets when they were evacuated by the military - an experience that traumatized them.
After the area was liberated, they returned to their hometown and found their home completely destroyed:
There was no roof, no windows. The ceilings in the house, simply everything was broken!
The pensioner couple, who look after their three grandchildren, were neither financially nor physically able to make the house habitable again themselves. Lyubov Demeshko and her husband Viktor therefore turned to arche noVa and the local partner organization Good Actions.
We reacted as quickly as possible and carried out extensive repair work on the Demeshko family's house. Among other things, the broken windows were replaced and the roof was re-roofed.
arche noVa has been providing humanitarian aid in eastern Ukraine since 2015. With Russia's major invasion three years ago, we further expanded our activities. Our aid is aimed at people like Lyubov and Viktor – old and sick people, people with disabilities, widows, female-headed households and children. Many of them are unable to leave their homes because they are physically unable to do so or are afraid of the uncertain, exhausting journey.
The fact that Lyubov can now live in her home town again means a lot to her: “Thanks to arche noVa, we were able to return to our renovated house and spend the winter in the warm. We are very, very grateful for that.”
The Demeshko family is one of more than 200 families that arche noVa has been able to help rebuild their home since October 2022. We have also distributed almost 6,600 hygiene packages containing soap, cleaning products, toilet paper, toothpaste, garbage bags and menstrual products, among other things.
Less aid despite growing emergency situation: We will not abandon the people in Ukraine
As an aid organization, we are very concerned about the latest political developments. Although the situation for Ukrainians is getting worse every day, we have fewer and fewer resources available to support them. Together with our partner organisations on the ground, we will nevertheless continue to stand up for them:
We do not plan to stop! Together with arche noVa, we are returning our people to their homes and, therefore, creating conditions for the revival of our community.
How long the war will last is uncertain. Nevertheless, Kristina Mandach, Lyubov Demeshko and many other Ukrainians are not giving up hope of a life in peace. We want to enable them to live in dignity – and therefore need your support!
