Cash support eases pain for elderly displaced

Kamianske – a regional town in central Ukraine – has become a refuge for internally displaced people from Eastern Ukraine. Often leaving behind everything, displaced people are forced to rebuild their lives from scratch. Fleeing occupied Horlivka, 72-year-old Halyna and her two grandchildren, Oleksiy and Misha continue to struggle to make ends meet. Rent, growing medical bills and the increasing cost of living has put them in a difficult place. To alleviate their situation, they’ve received cash assistance from the Ukraine Response Consortium-partner Hungarian Interchurch Aid.

“I raised the boys myself, starting when they were 3 years old, trying to do my best to meet all their needs for parental love and care” – Halyna retells her family’s story with a warm smile. They went through all the hardships together. When they realized that the conflict was about to escalate, they also fled together. Now all they have is each other.

Halyna used to work at a local factory in Horlivka near Donetsk and owned a private house, too. That is the past now, because the harsh reality of the war had other plans for their lives. Now all three live together in a modest apartment, equipped with used furniture donated by neighbors or found on local online platforms offering inexpensive items.

From a very young age, the grandmother took care of the boys, but her health does not seem to allow her to do so anymore. “She puts on a brave face, but we know how hard it is for her. It’s not just the ailments of old age – heart issues and high blood pressure, recently her knees gave up too. So now it’s our turn to take care of grandma,” – says Oleksiy, 17, the younger of two brothers and a student at college.

Six months ago, Halyna started experiencing severe knee pain and inflammation of the lymph nodes behind her knees. One particular morning, she cried out in pain and collapsed onto her bed instead of getting up and walking. The stress of displacement and the responsibility to financially uphold the family in such a difficult situation has taken its toll on her. She was prescribed expensive shockwave therapy treatment, medication, and months of rest.

“It happened so unexpectedly! I don’t want to burden my boys. I want to live a little longer, and they deserve to enjoy their own lives while they’re young,” laments Halyna. While the most painful phase of her recovery is now over, her health still requires constant support with medications and treatment. Just when their meagre financial reserves started to dry up due to the additional expenses, their application for cash support was granted.

Granting beneficiaries like Halyna the dignity to spend it on “wherever the shoe pinches” the assistance covers her medical expenditures and some outstanding bills. So now the grandmother tries to make her grandchildren happy by reserving a small amount of her pension for them. This of course leaves almost nothing after paying the rent. The grandchildren try and refuse, but as with any grandmother, it is difficult. Nevertheless, Oleksiy is determined. “I’m going to work at a construction site this summer between studies, so that my grandmother doesn’t have to worry about how to provide for me”

The three-month installment of 10,800 UAH per person is not only a temporary support for those in need, it also reassures IDPs that their fates are not forgotten, that their challenges and needs are acknowledged. The family of three will stick together and look out for each other no matter the circumstances, but-with the help and support of the Ukraine Response Consortium and funded by ACTED and World Vision, their struggles are considerably easier.

This story was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under Grant Agreement “Ukraine Response Consortium: Providing Multi-Sectoral Humanitarian Assistance to Conflict-Affected Populations in Ukraine (2023-2024)”