“This support helps us hold on and brings back hope”

Payments are coming to an end for residents of Sumy Oblast who registered for multi-purpose cash assistance in the autumn. This support was organized by the NGO Responsible Citizens in partnership with JERU (a joint initiative of the international organizations Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide) and funded by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany (AA).

After the payments were issued, we received a large number of messages from people who sincerely expressed their gratitude and shared the challenges they had been facing on their own.

Larysa from the village of Hrun in Sumy Oblast works as a caregiver at a local social service center. Every day she visits elderly people who are living alone and are almost unable to move. But this autumn she herself found herself in a difficult situation — in the dark, on her way home from another visit, she fell and broke her leg.

“I ended up in a cast — the doctors said it would be for six months, and the rehabilitation would be difficult. But help arrived literally within days! Representatives of your organization came, explained everything about the registration, and offered support. It shows that nothing is accidental, and help always comes when it is truly needed. I am very grateful that the funds have already arrived — I will be able to complete my treatment and return to work,” says Larysa, a caregiver from Hrun.

Another message of gratitude came from Shapovalivka of the Shevchenkove community.

“My husband and I are pensioners; we don’t have enough money, and we are both ill. So we were very glad when the community told us where we could apply for assistance. The funds have already arrived, and we can address our most urgent needs. We no longer even have livestock, we can’t work the land — our health doesn’t allow it. But thanks to your help, at least we will be able to heat our home this winter, buy firewood, stock up on painkillers and medicine for our joints,” says Tetiana Ivanivna.

In the village of Rybalske, assistance reached 82-year-old Varvara Yuriyivna, who for the past six months has had to travel regularly to Sumy for medical examinations due to a serious illness. Doctors have now decided that hospitalization is necessary.

“We saw online that it was possible to receive assistance,” says Alla R., Varvara Yuriyivna’s daughter-in-law, “and we applied right away. We are very grateful that we were helped with all the paperwork. The medicine is extremely expensive, the examinations too, and we are critically short of money. We had already lost hope — we’ve been living in hospitals for half a year. And with the constant shelling here, it’s all very difficult. Thanks to you, we felt at least a small spark of hope amid these hard times. Thank you so much for the support and for trying to bring hope back to us. It keeps us going.”

We would like to recall that the aim of the project is to support the most vulnerable population groups who urgently need assistance in overcoming the consequences of the war and preparing for the winter period. The beneficiaries of the assistance include families with children, persons with disabilities, older people, and internally displaced persons (IDPs).