Words by Smiley Team
Freezing temperatures, hunger, exhaustion, mental health problems and social isolation are all very real problems facing homeless people in Ukraine.
But the situation for single mothers, who are facing these challenges while trying to care for a baby or small children, is even more desperate.
Through their Korotich home in the eastern city of Kharkiv, homeless charity DePaul International offers these women and their children a lifeline providing warmth, shelter, meals, training and emotional support to help families to get back on their feet.
And it’s a lifeline which will now be guaranteed for another eight months thanks to a generous donation from international luggage brand Eastpak, made possible by the Smiley Movement.
Jason Eades is senior partnerships manager at DePaul, and worked with both the Smiley Movement and Eastpak to take the donation from an idea to a reality.
He said: “We are very grateful to both Eastpak for their donation and the Smiley Movement for bringing us together.
“The donation will run the whole of the Korotich project for eight months, and gives much needed hope and security to the women and the children who are living there.
“It means that families who have endured terrible hardships will now have access to meals, to medicines, to training and job opportunities and most importantly will have somewhere to call home.”
The Korotich project houses 12 women and their babies or infants, who have all faced extreme hardship. Women like Lina and her son Sasha, who were housed by the charity for a year after Lina’s husband was killed in fighting in east Ukraine.
Lina, 22, was forced to flee her home with her baby and found herself homeless 200 miles away in Kharkiv, facing temperatures of -22C on the streets with nowhere to go.
Thankfully Lina was taken in by the Korotich project, where she was able to live with her son in safety and then retrain as a plasterer. She eventually found work at a nearby military base and the pair were able to move into their own home. A year on both Lina and Sasha are healthy, happy and thriving.
Jason added: “Ukraine is one of Europe’s poorest countries and the situation there is extremely unstable. There is very little funding available to help the most vulnerable and as a charity we rely heavily on overseas donations.
“This generous donation will give women and their babies at the Korotich project safety, security and a sense of home at a time when it is most desperately needed.”
Original Article by Jenna Sloan
Photo by Jenna Norman on Unsplash
To find out more about the DePaul International and ways to get involved, go to their website.
