Today I helped August Mission‘s team in Khmelnytskyi deliver humanitarian aid materials to a nursing home located in the hinterlands of Khmelnytskyi Oblast.  To reach the nursing home, we drove about 90 minutes on smooth highway and then exited onto a small country road. We drove another 30 minutes at low speed on very rough roads to finally reach the remote location.

August Mission delivered several hundred cans of tomato sauce, several cases of biscuits, cooking salt, half a dozen large boxes of second-hand clothing, several dozen boxes of sanitary wet-wipes and hand sanitizer, a couple of cases of toothbrushes and toothpaste, and a couple dozen boxes of shampoo.  There were also several large sacks of straight-from-the-ground onions, carrots and potatoes. 

Some local walk-on volunteers helped us load the truck at the warehouse in the morning, and the staff at the nursing home helped us unload everything when we arrived. Many hands make light work.

After unloading, the staff brewed tea and coffee for us, and we sat and chatted with them for a while in the canteen next to the kitchen.

A Brief Visit at the Nursing Home

The nursing home currently cares for 34 residents.  They live in dormitory-style rooms that accommodate up to eight residents each. Many of the residents are bedridden, but for those who are still able to get around, there is a lounge with a TV. The grounds around the old school building are surrounded by farmland and woodland, but there are a few benches and chairs in the yard where residents can relax and get some sun and fresh air when the weather is warm.

Some of the August Mission team, who had previously delivered aid to this nursing home several times since the spring, were concerned about how the dilapidated school building would be heated during the coming winter.  Putting these concerns to rest, the staff showed us their industrial-grade wood stove and piles of firewood they had already prepared. It’s comforting to know at least that the residents will be warm enough this winter.

Roots in Chasiv Yar

This nursing home was originally opened in 2017 in the town of Chasiv Yar, by members of the Chasiv Yar chapter of the volunteer humanitarian aid group “Proliska” (see footnote).

Chasiv Yar is a town in Donetsk Oblast, very close to territory occupied by Russia. The town and surrounding villages had suffered extensive damage and civilian casualties from Russian artillery shelling during the fighting in 2014. Although not currently under Russian military control, Chasiv Yar lies within the region which Russia purportedly annexed on September 30, 2022.  

The Proliska volunteers set up the nursing home in Chasiv Yar to care for elderly people who were no longer able to live in their own homes because of the ravages of war.  Most of these elderly people lived near the contested demarcation line between Ukrainian- and Russian-controlled territory and some had been injured or had their homes damaged by artillery shelling during the fighting in 2014.  Yet, because of their age and frailty, it would be very difficult for them to move to any other place and live independently as “internally displaced persons”. The volunteer-run nursing home provided these elderly folks with a safe home and community where they could live in dignity with basic humanitarian care, including at least some simple comforts such as warm beds and hot meals.

Evacuation

After the Russian mobilization on February 24, 2022, the battle line pushed closer to Chasiv Yar and local residents were once again at risk of becoming casualties of artillery bombardment in and around Chasiv Yar. The urgency to evacuate to a safer place heightened day by day.

(Images courtesy of Radio Free Ukraine and the Chasiv Yar chapter of Proliska.)

The situation for the nursing home was complicated not only by the frail condition of the residents, but also by the difficulty of finding a suitable new location to accommodate them.  Fortunately, by reaching out to a network of concerned volunteers across the country, the home eventually garnered the use of an abandoned school building  in a remote village in the hinterland of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, far to the west of the battle lines. 

Mixed Blessings

The nursing home has been housed in the old school building in Khmelnytskyi for the past six months.  How long the residents will remain “internally displaced” in this remote location is anybody’s guess.  On the one hand, it is fortunate the Khmelnytskyi Oblast government was able to provide the abandoned school building.  On the other hand, the location is very remote, far from the nearest hospital or medical center, and accessible only over very rough roads.

Resilience

The evacuation and relocation of the Chasiv Yar nursing home is a testament to the fortitude and tenacity of the people of Ukraine faced with wartime hardships.  All across the country, not just individuals, but entire institutions are being “internally displaced”.

Here in Khmelnytskyi I am far from the front lines, so I have no direct observation on how many people may have been lost or left behind. But when I see the care and effort that was devoted to moving this entire nursing home of elderly people across the country, I hopefully surmise that, overall, the exodus from the war zone has been more triumphal than tragic.

The Villages of Chasiv Yar

The relocation of the Chasiv Yar nursing home has been possible because of close cooperation from all levels and facets of society, including civil government, private citizens, international NGOs like August Mission and the generous and concerned donors supporting them, and the local and international volunteers who step up on a day-to-day basis to help provide food, clothing, hygiene supplies and other important aid and care. The story and fate of the Chasiv Yar nursing home is the story of a global village coming together to care for one of its own. Truly, it takes a village to nurture a village.

Footnote: Proliska was established by local volunteers in Donetsk Oblast in 2014, with the mission of providing comprehensive humanitarian assistance to the civilian population affected by war. Proliska continues to operate in the conflict zone of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, providing humanitarian aid, social support, infrastructure renovation, repair of damaged housing and assistance in transporting and evacuating civilians living in isolated, war-affected villages. Proliska has provided assistance along 470 km of the contested demarcation line, assisting more than 350 villages and more than one and a half million civilians to date.