People are living here!

This time we have come to Opytnoye village with the long route – through the Tonenkoye and Vodyanoye villages. The bypass road was shelled several days before that’s why no one was allowed to use it.

Tonenkoye village is the farthest location from the front-line, so some works on restoration were started here. All the works are accomplished by international humanitarian missions, volunteer groups and national NGOs. Yes, there are no governmental institutions taking part in this process. But no one is surprised about this.

And there is no Internet access in Tonenkoye that’s why children asked us to bring books, toys and table-plays to them. There are 15 of them there in the age from 3 to 15 years old. And they all play together always.

In Vodyanoye village the war is felt more strongly. On every house here there is a statement “People are living here”. Sometimes there is only a fence with such statement but the house is diminished till the foundation.

People used to live here…

There are problems with water supply in Vodyanoye – the water is not suitable for usage. Locals showed us pans with the salt precipitate of several centimeters.

Only during the last couple of months one international humanitarian mission. And during the active fighting, almost for 1,5 years, people were drinking technical water. Now they have stomach, skin problems.

The situation is more or less stable in Opytnoye village. There is every day shooting. One week before one hose was burned down through the straight shelling. Local say: “It’s good that no one was hurt. No one here cannot be surprised with damaged house – we are all living here in ruins”

— Do you have any bedridden patients and disabled?, - I ask one local woman.

— No, such people were lucky, they were all dead already, thank to God.

We are trying every month to support people from Opytnoye village. This time we have brought hygiene, buckets, salt, flashlights, batteries. Next time we are planning to bring medicines and clothes.

We are grateful to everyone who support us in assistance providing to such people. It is very important to them, it is a reason for them to be happy about the next day coming, but not to wait a frightening “luck”.

Olga Kosse