Restoring water, shelter and hope for Ukrainians affected by war

Over the past year, with the support of the European Union, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL has helped over 100,000 Ukrainians regain access to the very basics war has deprived them of – water and shelter.  

Needs remain particularly high in liberated areas and frontline oblasts where inhabitants endured intense fighting in 2022, living through occupation, multiple displacements, and widespread destruction. Those who return to previously occupied areas often come back to an unrecognizable landscape, damaged houses, disrupted water systems, and communities struggling to recover. To support these populations, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL and the European Union have provided emergency assistance to returnees, internally displaced people, and conflict-affected households across Ukraine, focusing on restoring access to water and shelter services. 

In the Kherson region, Tetiana is one of a trickle of returnees – around 80 individuals – who have come back to Trudoliubivka village and who are rebuilding their lives. The task is daunting. The village was fought over for months before being retaken by Ukrainian forces in the spring of 2022, and almost four years later, it is still in ruins. Houses left standing are wrecked; metal fencing has been twisted and bent by blast waves and shredded by shrapnel; fields once a blush with crops of sunflowers are now bordered by signs warning of mine contamination. Moreover, at household level, the electricity supply is erratic at best as damaged infrastructure precludes any return to normal life. The situation only got worse when the destruction of the Kakhovka Damn in 2023 significantly reduced the level of aquifers in the region, rendering many boreholes useless and leaving residents without drinking water.  

In response to these urgent needs, the partnership between SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL and the European Union allowed the provision of emergency water supplies to Tetiana and other returnees. In total, the action has ensured the distribution of water bottles to over 48,000 people across the liberated areas and frontline cities of Ukraine, including Kherson and Kharkiv.   

Additionally, the threat of drones and large-scale attacks has become part of daily life across the country, while needs remain as pressing as ever. Even when homes are not directly hit, windows and doors can be blown out, rendering them uninhabitable. The permanence of the threat impedes long-term repairs. In these conditions, residents like Tetiana have received emergency shelter and insulation kits, helping restore basic living conditions for 700 households.  

However, for thousands of Ukrainians, there is no home to repair or to return to. With their homes destroyed or located on the other side of the frontline, many internally displaced people are forced to resort to living in transit centers. With the support of the European Union, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL has worked to improve living conditions in these facilities by rehabilitating or installing sanitation infrastructure and providing essential winter fuel.   

An example of this infrastructure is the  Vesniane  Collective Centre, in the Mykolaiv region. The ex-Soviet pioneer camp lies at a strategic location, overlooking Mykolaiv from across the river Bug, on the road towards Odesa. In the early days of the war, this road became the only safe route out of Mykolaiv and away from the fighting. Hundreds gathered at the center, awaiting evacuation, most of them women and children.    

Today, around 120 people live at the centre. Half are people with disabilities; the other half mostly consists of older residents and internally displaced people.  Volodymyr, the head of the center, explains that “the situation in Ukraine has become very difficult. Many young people have left the country, while their parents and grandparents often remain with no one to care for them“.    

Fuel, insulation works, and new bathrooms provided by SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL and the European Union have improved living conditions for residents. Oleksandr, an inhabitant of the Vesniane Collective Center, has fed over 20 tons of fuel briquettes provided by SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL and the European Union into a newly installed boiler. 

This has kept the centre heated over what has been the harshest winter of the war so far. With the support of this humanitarian assistance, Volodymyr, as head of the centre, plans to turn Vesniane into a state-of-the-art Social Rehabilitation and Recovery Center. In total, an estimated 5,000 individuals, living in collective centers and in individual homes, have benefited from heating solutions provided by SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL and the European Union. Residents have been able to stay warm despite freezing temperatures and limited means, preserving their health and a sense of normalcy.  

Throughout the year, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL and the European Union have also supported long-term recovery through the provision of repairs to people’s homes. In Mala Oleksandrivka  village, Kherson region, everybody has a war story. Svitlana Levytska returned to her home during the first winter following liberation.  Her house had been heavily damaged: shelling hit the yard and vegetable garden; the blast waves almost tore off the roof. After repairing the windows and the roof, the family has gradually begun restoring their house. The support provided allows them to rebuild their lives from the comfort of a home that is warm and dry. Since repairing Svitlana’s home, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL and the European Union have helped repair the homes of over 100 families, like those of Viktoriia Sherstiuk and Mykola Orlov.   

Le soutien apporté aux communautés s’est également étendu au renforcement des capacités des prestataires de services. Grâce à des dons d’équipements et de matériels modernes, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL et l’Union européenne contribuent à maintenir et à améliorer l’approvisionnement en eau et de traitement des eaux usées au bénéfice de villes et villages entiers.   

Une première étape a été franchie : plus de 100,000 bénéficiaires ont désormais un toit au-dessus de leur tête, du combustible pour se chauffer et de l’eau potable. Pour de nombreux bénéficiaires, comme Volodymyr Orlov, blessé lors d’un violent bombardement, les souvenirs de la guerre resteront sans doute gravés à jamais dans leur mémoire. C’est pour les Ukrainiens vulnérables comme Volodymyr que SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL et l’Union européenne renforcent leur action dans le cadre d’un projet renouvelé et élargi visant à venir en aide à 56,000 personnes supplémentaires dans le besoin. Cette nouvelle phase s’appuiera sur de nouveaux partenaires et proposera plus de soutien, notamment des aides sociales, un accompagnement psychosocial et une protection de l’enfant, dans le but de répondre à la fois aux besoins matériels et immatériels. 

Photos : © Stanislas Pantelei