Robert Van Voren: Social care homes in Ukraine

Published May 23, 2018 at 10:59 am

UNHCR High Profile Supporter Helena Christensen takes a selfie with Liudmila Fedorovna, 76 years old in Slovyansk, eastern Ukraine. UNHCR helped repair her home after it was damaged during the conflict in the region in 2014 and Liudmila was left homeless. ; In times of conflict, older people are at heightened risk of being forgotten, abandoned and neglected. When fighting led to civilian deaths and destroyed large swathes of buildings, including hospitals, and houses in Donetsk region, east of Ukraine three years ago, most of the young families fled. Less able to make this journey were the region’s older and vulnerable residents who stayed in their damaged homes or moved into collective shelters, convinced that they would soon return home. Out of the estimated 1.6 million people internally displaced by the conflict, 900,000 are over 60 years old.Struggling to exist, these vulnerable older people (known as ‘Babushkas’ in Ukraine) soon exhausted all of their financial resources (the average monthly income in Ukraine is just $50 and for many people the house they own is their only source of wealth). To compound their difficulties, pensions and social assistance for over half a million IDPs were suspended. This dire situation means that forty per cent of residents who lost their homes in shelling simply have no means to rebuild. Even houses not directly hit were affected by shockwaves that lifted roofs and smashed windows, forcing many older people to endure the harsh and bitter winter, with temperature reaching lows of minus 20 degrees Celsius, in desperate conditions. In many communities, people had no option but to sleep in basements or even out in the cold.UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has been responding by providing humanitarian assistance to vulnerable people displaced by fighting, including carrying out 4,000 home repairs and reconstructions. From installing new panes of glass and insulation to repairing roofs and rebuilding houses from the foundatio

Photo by Hector Perez

I don’t think I will ever get used to it, and that is probably a good thing. Talking to a person who entered the social care home labyrinth in Ukraine because of a mishap in his or her life, who understands full well that there is no exit except after death, leaves a permanent mark in your memory. If I close my eyes I can see the hopelessness and resignation in their eyes, the sadness in their voice and the feeling they radiate, of being lost people forgotten by the outside world.

A week ago we again toured several social care homes in Ukraine. This time our trip was under the auspices of the Ministry of Social Affairs, a unique experience because this is the Ministry that bears responsibility for the social care homes and until now had been a closed institution, as closed as the social care homes themselves. However there is a new leadership, and their willingness to allow us to enter unrestrictedly is highly appreciated.