June 29, 2025
News
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Caritas Czech Republic has been providing decent living conditions for war-affected families in western Ukraine. Recently, we purchased essential household appliances for 12 flats in the village of Kernytsia, in the Lviv region. Here, the local community, together with charitable organisations, transformed the former village council building into social housing. Thanks to this, Olha and her young children now have a safe new home.
A sense of home restores faith in people
In February 2022, Olha and her husband were evacuating children from the left bank of the Kherson region. Their village of Brylivka is still occupied. After several relocations, the family settled in the Lviv region, where they bought a small rural house. After sheltering his family, Olha's husband joined the country's defence. One tragic day, a fire broke out in the house due to a short circuit. Fortunately, Olha and her children were not injured.
"The roof and part of the house burned down. And we were left homeless again," she says, barely holding back her tears.
However, the family did not lose heart and asked for help from the Horodok territorial community, which offered social housing in neighbouring Kernitsa.
"I am sincerely grateful to everyone who contributed to this. I am especially grateful to Caritas Czech Republic, as this feels like a fresh start and a new chapter in my life. We can just walk in with our suitcase, which we have been carrying for three years, and enjoy every day. With your help, my belief in people has grown stronger," says Olha.
Successful cooperation for the entire community
The idea to use the administrative building of the Kernytsia village council for social housing came up in 2023. According to Bohdan Stepaniak, manager of the executive committee of the Horodok City Council, some of the administrative buildings turned into wastelands as a result of the merger of the village councils. The war forced the community to rethink the purpose of these buildings to help those left homeless. The community has developed project documentation, conducted communications, and is planning to improve the territory.
"Thanks to the support of our benefactors and charity organisations, we refurbished and repaired the village council building. We now have 12 apartments, and 32 people, including families from the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Mykolaiv regions, have already moved in. The apartments are fully furnished and equipped, and ready for living. People are happy," said Mr Bohdan.
According to Ivanna Markiv, project manager of Caritas Czech Republic, her team joined the pilot project, purchasing refrigerators, washing machines, electric stoves and household items for each apartment.
"Caritas Czech Republic already has a successful cooperation with its partners - UNHCR and the NEEKA Charitable Foundation - but this is the first time we are working together on social housing for internally displaced persons and people in need. We have provided the necessary household appliances and household items and hope that they will make the residents feel comfortable and cosy," summed up Ivanna Markiv.
The Horodok City Council is exploring ways to continue its successful cooperation and is already looking for new facilities
“It is a pleasure to cooperate with Caritas Czech Republic: everything is at a very high level, so we hope for further cooperation,” Bohdan Stepaniak concluded.
Caritas Czech Republic in Ukraine
Caritas Czech Republic has been helping Ukrainian families since the beginning of the war. In addition to providing much-needed humanitarian aid, we provide shelter to internally displaced people in modular houses in western Ukraine. We are also improving living conditions in dormitories.
In western Ukraine, we support Ukrainians who have decided to stand on their own feet after evacuating from the war zone. Through mini-grants, we assist the restoration of livelihoods for people in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and the Transcarpathian region.
In eastern Ukraine, we improve the accessibility and quality of rehabilitation and reproductive medicine by modernising hospitals and educating staff.
Since 2025, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, we have been involved in setting up a network of Mental Health Centres in 4 regions: Dnipro, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Transcarpathia. In addition, Caritas Czech Republic supports Ukrainian educational institutions near the frontline by creating safe educational spaces, providing equipment, and funding psychological consultations and additional classes to help children catch up on their educational gaps.
In southern Ukraine, we are now working with partners to restore the water supply in affected areas and set up mobile medical centres.
