Themes by tag: volunteers

Anastasiia Astafieva is considered one of Kyiv’s leading specialists in tattooing and tattoo removal. Following the start of russia’s full-scale invasion against Ukraine, she treated a serviceman who wanted to eliminate an old tattoo. His face also bore remnants of gunpowder residue that had become lodged deep in his skin after a blast.

Astafieva attempted to remove the embedded residue with a laser typically used for tattoo removal. The advanced laser therapy results were visible after just one session. After several more, the soldier’s skin was fully restored. Impressed by the outcome, he encouraged other servicemen to seek her help. 

That marked the beginning of her work with those recovering from blast-related injuries. Today, Astafieva treats both military personnel and civilians affected by war, removing not only gunpowder but also soot and soil that have become embedded in their skin during explosions. She provides these treatments free of charge.

Anastasiia Astafieva is open to interviews both online and in person in Kyiv.

• casualties
• volunteers
• women
• Kyiv

Anna Kudzia is a Polish specialist in monument restoration. Over the past decade, she and her team have worked to preserve Ukraine’s architectural heritage. In Lviv, the restorers set up a workshop where they repair and restore sculptures.

When the full-scale war began, Anna co-founded the Ukraina Pomagamy initiative with a group of Polish and Ukrainian restorers. They purchase vehicles and medical supplies for the front lines and assemble first-aid kits for soldiers in their own workshop. Anna Kudzia personally delivers these supplies to the front, either alone or alongside her team of women volunteers.

You can speak with Anna Kudzia and her team online or in person in Lviv, by prior arrangement.

• culture
• volunteers
• Lviv

Sewing Squad is a volunteer initiative that produces adaptive clothing for wounded defenders, as well as civilians affected by russian aggression.

The initiative was founded by Maryna Palchenko and Kseniia Samoilych. On February 28, 2022, they brought their sewing machines and overlockers to a regular office of a Dnipro IT company and launched the Sewing Squad to make balaclavas and thermal clothing, which they distributed to defenders for free (their record was 498 balaclavas in one day). In May, a hospital requested “cyberwear” — special adaptive garments with Velcro/snaps that are easy to put on, don’t cause pain, and don’t require wounded soldiers to lift their arms or legs. Over time, a team of active and talented craftswomen and craftsmen from all over Ukraine gathered around the Sewing Squad.

Today, the initiative unites over 700 volunteers from different Ukrainian cities and parts of the world (including Canada, Poland, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and England). In total, they have sewn more than 300,000 adaptive garments and developed over 35 clothing designs.

By prior arrangement, journalists can speak with the initiative’s founders in Dnipro, as well as with people sewing the clothing (in workshops, small factories, or their own homes) across Ukraine or abroad.

• volunteers

The third season of the International Building Camp (INBUT) is underway this summer, with volunteers working in the recently liberated areas of Ukraine’s Chernihiv region. By the end of November, the team aims to complete the full reconstruction of seven homes that were destroyed during the fighting.

The initiative invites volunteers from around the world to take part. In addition to rebuilding efforts, participants can engage in various social activities, including movie screenings and board games.

This year, volunteers from Chile, Puerto Rico, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Scotland, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, France, Australia, Sweden, and Canada joined the initiative.

Journalists may cover the volunteers’ work upon prior coordination with organizers.

For reference: INBUT is a project launched in 2023 by the NGO Repair Together. Last year, it drew volunteers from across the globe, including the United States, France, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Austria, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Chile.

• reconstruction
• volunteers
• Chernihiv

Duarte Casanova, a 24-year-old volunteer, hails from Lisbon, Portugal. He studied in Denmark and earned a master’s degree in environmental engineering. 

After graduating, Duarte set off to travel — and his first destination (in the fall of 2024) was Ukraine. He says it remains his favorite country, which is why he decided to return once more.

In 2024, Duarte joined the volunteers of BUT (Building Ukraine Together) and helped with the renovation of a cultural center in the Chernihiv oblast. More recently, he worked in the Kherson oblast, restoring homes of civilians affected by the war. He mentions that he previously assisted Front Power in Dnipro (making power banks for the army), the Volunteer Kitchen in Lviv, and Kitty Pechersk in Kyiv. He is currently volunteering in Kramatorsk in the Donetsk oblast.

Journalists have the opportunity to meet Duarte Casanova in person in Kramatorsk until July 20 or later in Lviv by prior arrangement. Online communication is also possible.

• reconstruction
• volunteers

Artem Yerokhin, 23, once worked with a humanitarian mission until American funding for the program was cut, leaving him without a job. In the wake of his dismissal, Artem set out on a new path, literally. He began a 1,200-kilometer journey on foot from Dnipro to Uzhhorod with a goal: to raise one million hryvnias to support the treatment, prosthetics, and rehabilitation of frontline-injured Ukrainian servicemen. 

He launched a charitable initiative called Spilnokrok, or “Shared Step,” to drive the campaign. Yerokhin aims to cover roughly 30 kilometers per day and expects the trek to take at least a month.

Artem is available for interviews along the route both online and in person by prior arrangement. His current location is available upon request.

• volunteers

Before 2022, Ihor Kazmin repaired passenger and commercial vehicles. When fighting broke out in the Mykolaiv oblast, he began helping the military fix armored vehicles.

In May 2022, he built his first buggy for soldiers and has since completely repurposed his auto shop to meet the army’s needs. To date, his team of mechanics has assembled 70 buggies and sent them to the front lines. Fitting out a single buggy takes anywhere from two to three weeks up to two months, depending on the base vehicle being modified. Initially, volunteers worked with Ladas, then moved on to Fords and Skodas, and later began using all-wheel-drive cars.

Some vehicles are handed over after being damaged at the front or in accidents, while others have to be purchased using personal or donated funds. Currently, eight people work in the workshop. In the future, Ihor plans to open a hostel and café for soldiers, who are frequent visitors to the auto shop.

You can connect with Ihor Kazmin online or in person in Mykolaiv by prior arrangement.

• military
• volunteers
• Mykolaiv

Since 2014, Dmytro Lozhenko, a Kharkiv resident, has been helping people with limited mobility, the elderly, prisoners, and individuals struggling with alcohol or drug addiction.

In Kharkiv, Dmytro established shelters for those he supported. When the full-scale invasion began, the people he had helped became volunteers themselves, initially focusing on evacuation and reconstruction efforts. Through his NGO, “I Am Saved,” over 40,000 people have been evacuated from frontline areas and more than 5,000 homes have had their roofs and windows repaired.

Recently, Dmytro and his volunteers started a new initiative involving free salvage operations in Kharkiv’s war-damaged buildings scheduled for demolition. They carefully collect personal belongings and transport them to storage facilities where items are kept until owners can retrieve them for their new homes.

Dmytro Lozhenko is available for interviews online or in person in Kharkiv by prior arrangement.

• reconstruction
• volunteers
• Kharkiv
• evacuation

A herd of nineteen horses and foals remains at an abandoned equestrian complex in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, where stable hand Oleksii Boliukh, unpaid and undeterred, has been caring for them since the owner fled during the russian occupation.

The facility, once a bustling hub for equestrian sports, was left without management in 2022. Its owner disappeared just a day before Ukrainian forces reclaimed the territory. With no one left to oversee the complex, Boliukh stayed behind, feeding and tending to the animals amid shelling and shortages.

When the full-scale invasion began, there were 28 horses at the complex. They endured months of bombardment, occupation, and hunger. Some were wounded. Lacking proper nutrition and care, the animals’ survival depended on the resolve of Boliukh and the help of a few volunteers, including a local community police officer.

Now, more than three years into the war, the herd has shrunk, some horses have been evacuated to safer areas, but 19 still remain. Several were born during the fighting, under the thunder of nearby artillery. The surviving animals are under legal arrest, as criminal proceedings have been launched against the absentee owner, who left them without proper documentation.

Volunteer Robert Sargsyan has become one of Boliukh’s most crucial allies. He built a stable 60 kilometers away from the abandoned complex and has been helping evacuate and care for the horses, ensuring they receive food, shelter, and medical treatment.

Despite the chaos of war and the legal limbo surrounding the horses’ status, Boliukh and Sargsyan continue their efforts to protect the animals. 

Interviews with Oleksii Boliukh and Robert Sargsyan are available in person by prior arrangement.

• animals
• occupation
• volunteers
• Kharkiv
• evacuation

In 2018, Olena Nabokova and a group of friends founded the NGO Ukrainian Womanity in Zaporizhia. At the time, she was also the sole caregiver for her son Sasha, who lived with bronchial asthma. In 2020, Sasha, then 17, went to bed one night and never woke up. Devastated by the loss, Olena turned to a psychiatrist for support, unable to cope on her own.

When russia launched its full-scale invasion, Olena was still in her hometown of Zaporizhia. She immediately began volunteering, transforming her apartment into a hub and storage space for humanitarian aid. “We gathered medicine, batteries for hearing aids, food, hygiene items, anything people with health conditions might need,” she recalls.

As it became clear that the war would not end quickly, Olena expanded her efforts. She launched a Center for Children and Women in Difficult Circumstances. Over time, the focus shifted from emergency relief to long-term support, offering training sessions and educational programs for both adults and children.

Now studying to become a positive psychotherapy therapist, Olena continues her work with renewed purpose. Meetings with her are available both online and in person in Zaporizhia, by appointment.

• casualties
• volunteers
• women
• Zaporizhzhia