Volunteers from Bucha and Hostomel organized a charity fund for the restoration of the region

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How volunteers from Hostomel organized the "Victory of Ukraine" fund
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Credit: victoryofukraine.com.ua
20:19, 16.08.2022

The founders and volunteers of the Peremoga Ukraine Charitable Foundation began their activity at the end of February 2022, with the start of an open attack by the Russian army.



At first, it was volunteer work in different regions of Ukraine, where the war scattered them. And then, the activists united and registered a charitable foundation to make the help more structured and effective. The central part of the team is from the cities of Gostomel and Bucha near Kyiv, which were severely damaged by shelling and the brutal actions of the invaders. Therefore, the work and support of the foundation are primarily aimed at maximum assistance and revival of this region.

We spoke with the fund's executive director, Serhiy Regina, and his wife, Olha Abramchuk. In the past, they have had a successful sports career, but now the only thing they want to devote themselves to is helping Ukraine. One of the critical projects of the fund is assistance to Lyceum No. 1 in Hostomel.

Sports background

Serhiy: At the age of 12, I started going in athletics (hammer throwing) and devoted 15 years to this sport, 11 of which I was a member of the Ukrainian national team, and I ended my career only last year due to an injury. Every year, from 2009 to 2020, I represented Ukraine at international competitions. In 2017, he fulfilled the standard of the Master of Sports of Ukraine of the international class and was the winner and prize-winner of many international competitions and championships in Ukraine. In 2019, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky awarded him the Order of Merit of the III degree for high sports achievements.

Olha: My sports career began at the age of 13; for 12 years of my sports life, I was a member of the national team of Ukraine most of the time, repeatedly became the champion and prize-winner of the Championships and Cups of Ukraine, international match meetings, a participant in the World Junior Championship and the adult European Championship in 2016, which was the last in my career as a professional athlete. She ended her sports career consciously, then began working as a coach. And only after Sergey finished his sports life and we moved to Gostomel did I change the gym to an office and a private office, and sneakers to heels.

At the beginning of the war

Olha: For us, the war began on February 24 at 5:30 am, when we got a call saying that the war had begun and we had to leave. Since we had lived in Gostomel for the last year, there was not much time for evacuation, and the bill was an hour. The emotions that overwhelmed us are impossible to put into words; it was a mixture of shock, misunderstanding, anger, and hatred; at that moment, we were completely unprepared; we could not believe that this was possible in the 21st century, that it was possible to attack neighboring states and kill people openly. At that moment, we did not panic, but started to pack things with a cold head and, frankly, we packed things for a maximum of two weeks, then we took one suitcase for two and a cat. Like everyone else, we thought this was not for long, so we even left one car under the porch. After all, they were sure that the war would end in a couple of days, and they would not come to Kyiv. We didn’t even know where to go; we just drove away from the border with a hostile country.

Volunteers  from Bucha and Hostomel organized a charity fund for the restoration of the region
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Serhiy: We went to Kamyanets-Podolsky because no explosions were recorded there on February 24; plus, it is close to the border with Moldova, where our good friends live, who could help in case of emergency. Yes, we just heard about this city and have always wanted to go there. No matter how ridiculous it may sound in the context of February 24. And already, at about one in the afternoon on February 24, we left Gostomel. When we were driving towards Borodyanka, enemy helicopters flew towards our airport in Hostel. But then, for some reason, we thought they were ours because we had no idea that it was possible to get to us from the border so quickly, but after 10-15 minutes, there were videos on the Internet of these helicopters bombing Gostomel. If we had been delayed for an hour or two, then maybe we would not have been able to leave.
During the first days of the invasion, we simply hid the news feed; then we realized that we would not return home soon and decided to pull ourselves together and go volunteer and help our country. For sitting with folded arms is not about us. I went to the TRO, but only locals were accepted there; I got registered with the military registration and enlistment office, and then we started looking for how we could help.

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Volunteering

Serhiy: The first time we helped as volunteers, we saw a man at the entrance to the Silpo store who was collecting food for refugees and feeding people free lunches in his cafe. We just went to the store, bought groceries, and brought them to him. And they became full-fledged volunteers after they met Gurman Leonid Dmitrievich, a local coach, whom they learned about from the sports chat of the throwing team. We got to know him and offered our help. And from that day, we started our volunteer activities. From March-April, we all did a lot together, and created and implemented many projects, including:

  1. Arrangement of a bomb shelter for 800-1000 people with a supply of all communications, showers, toilets, backup generators, and even the Internet.
  2. A lot of humanitarian aid was given to those evacuated to Kamenets or sent to people in the Kyiv region who had been under occupation all the time. After the first evacuations from Gostomel and the Buchansky district, many people arrived who had almost nothing with them. Then we gave them things and everything they needed, and later it turned into a stock center where people could come and take clothes, bed linen, hygiene products, baby food, diapers, and much more for free. On average, about a thousand people passed through it a day. It works even now
  3. Call center - where 24/7 people in the Kamyanets-Podilskyi district can still seek advice in various areas: where to get help or where the hospital is located and how to get to the doctor if you are evacuated from hot spots and others.
  4. They held mass sports events for children to somehow distract them from the war.

At the end of our stay in Kamyanets-Podolsky, we were noted and awarded by the mayor of Kamyanets, Mikhail Positko, thanks for volunteering and helping the city.

Most of all, we remember a few stories: Grandparents from Vorzel came to us; it is clear that they arrived naked and barefoot, stood and chose at least some things near our headquarters. There, before the appearance of the stock center, people were given out things. We tell them there is a stock center in the center of the city, but they begin to say that they are old and will not make it and do not know the city. Then we contacted our volunteer Maxim, who was in charge of transportation in our team because he had the most economical car, and sent him to be taken there. When we spoke with this couple, it was unfortunate to understand that these people had been accumulating property all their lives, equipping the house. The invaders came and destroyed everything dear to them.

There was also one family that fled Donetsk with their family in 2014, and in 2022 they had to escape from Kyiv; the second time to experience this is demoralizing. But they joined volunteer activities and worked and helped everyone.

Many people came to us then, and each had his own story. Then we began to devote almost all of our time to volunteering. Subsequently, it has already grown into the fact that we created our charitable foundation, "Victory of Ukraine," and, upon returning to Gostomel, began to actively engage in it, more precisely, to help people in the Buchansk region and not only.

Homecoming

Serhiy: When we returned home, we thought the apartment was gone because the neighbors wrote that there were positions of orcs on the 9th and 10th floors during the evacuation. We were preparing for the worst, saying goodbye to all the property we left in Gostomel. But then, after the de-occupation of the city, videos began to appear, where there was also our house with a yard. There we see standing cars in a completely burnt row, and you can see a little of ours, and it looked unharmed. Then there was hope. And then one of our military comrades, who was on patrol in Gostomel, drove into the house and saw that the car was intact, only the windows were broken, and there was a "bullet wound" in the rear fender.
Olha: Everything in the apartment is turned upside down, the doors are torn out, but almost all things remain, except for Sergei's shoes - winter boots and some clothes from sports equipment.

Serhiy: The army of "liberators" probably came to "liberate" me from Nike things. It is good that we took almost all the valuable and dear stuff with us. But we did leave one precious something for me at home, and we thought that the orcs would take it away - this is my order with an order book - the state award "Order of Merit of the 3rd degree", but fortunately it was found. The neighbors returning home in the house and putting things in order in the apartments photographed other people's things and threw them into the chat at home, so my order was found at the neighbor's several floors below, which made me very happy.

Olha: For several weeks after returning in early May, we lived in Mikulichi while Gostomel was restored and brought to a viable state, and from the beginning of June, we returned to live in Gospel. Since the beginning of May, we have been fully involved in the work of the Peremoga Ukraine Charitable Foundation and paid attention to the Buchansky district.

Help Hostomel Lyceum No. 1

Why did we start work on the academy?

Serhiy: After talking with the director, we realized that Lyceum No. 1 has every chance to launch online and offline training on September 1, 2022. Suppose together we help the lyceum open its doors. In that case, it will be the only working school in Gostomel. Thanks to the school bus, which ran throughout the UTC even before the war, children from nearby villages will also be able to attend the institution and receive a quality education. You can find out how to help on the foundation's website and social networks.

Goals of the Victory of Ukraine Charitable Foundation

Our goal is the restoration of Ukraine as a whole, the restoration of infrastructure, the attraction of investments, and the creation of jobs. Humanitarian aid is only a part of the whole work; no one will raise the country's economy with humanitarian aid alone. It is necessary to restore cities so that they invest in them, build factories or create companies so that people have jobs and can arrange life for themselves, not survival. And, of course, regular assistance to the military, which our foundation provides. Over the past few months, we have donated medicines, food, cars, and many other things they need, which can not always be advertised and covered on the website or social networks, to the guys on the front lines. Networks.

Volunteers  from Bucha and Hostomel organized a charity fund for the restoration of the region
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Olena Tkalich

Expert on women's rights, persons with disabilities, motherhood in the modern context, health care reform, education and social welfare.