“In all the years of war, this is the first time I’ve received assistance,” shared 63-year-old Natalia Mykolaivna from Kehychivka in the Kharkiv region

When the full-scale invasion began, Natalia and her family made the decision to stay home. Besides the difficulty of leaving their home, where they had lived their entire lives, the family faced personal challenges. Natalia Mykolaivna’s health had worsened, making it difficult for her to move around, even within her own house. She now handles all household challenges with her 33-year-old son, who lost a leg and became disabled after a serious illness.

“So where would we go, when both of us have difficulty moving? And in Kehychivka, we have friends, neighbors, everyone feels like family now. I worked in retail my whole life and was constantly interacting with people. After all these years of war, we’ve become closer than family with many people. We stick together and help each other,” Natalia Mykolaivna says.

She learned about our cash assistance program almost by accident, when a caring friend sent her a registration link. “I had no experience with this kind of thing and not much trust either. But one sleepless night, I sat down to figure it out, answered the questions in the form, and sent it off. Just a few days later, they called me back and said I’d been accepted into the program. I still can’t believe it! This is actually the first time we’ve received this kind of assistance in all these years of war,” Natalia Mykolaivna shared.

The financial support her family received has been very helpful. It allowed them to buy expensive medications, preventive supplements, support their immunity, and purchase essential nutritious food items.

“We really want to help our grandson. We hope to save a little to give him a necessary gift when the opportunity arises,” shares Natalia Mykolaivna.

The project “Provision of Multi-Sectoral Humanitarian Assistance to Conflict-Affected Populations in Ukraine,” implemented by the NGO “Responsible Citizens” with the support of the international humanitarian organization World Vision, continues. This initiative is made possible with the support of USAID – US Agency for International Development, Acted, and the #UkraineResponseConsortium.

NGO “Responsible Citizens” – fighting for a dignified life for people.