Urgent appeal for Derhachi
We do not normally put out multiple newsletters in a single week, however unfortunately events this week have necessitated it.
On Monday, the area where our contractor, Viktoria, as well as one of our builders, Yura, live in Derhachi was hit by an aerial bomb, destroying two houses totally and knocking out all the windows and doors on the other side of the street to Viktoria’s. It could have been a lot worse and thankfully nobody was killed, but this has understandably shaken the community hugely. The attack seems to have been random; Derhachi has not been seriously targeted for a year and a half, and this is a totally residential area with no military targets anywhere nearby.
Our work is extremely localised, and even aside from the people here who we actively employ, everyone in this community plays a quiet, vital role in it. When the KHARPP website crashed a month ago, it was someone on this street who sat for two hours with me putting it back up. When the KHARPP car broke down a month ago, it was people on this street who first came out to try and fix it themselves, and then when this wasn’t possible helped to tow it to the local garage, and then to collect it when it was ready a few weeks later and drive it back. They have welcomed us with open arms, and a visit to our contractor rarely passes without a neighbour bringing over a cake or homemade wine. Last week when the electricity and water were knocked out in Kharkiv, the street came together to collect bottles to go and fill with water from a local well and to be distributed amongst neighbours who needed it. We always joke that the street has everyone you could possibly need to get through life, and it really is true that the street has everyone you could possibly need to run a charity.
Our policy on the whole remains that we do not work in places which have been hit in the last three months, and we understand that donors give to us on this basis, however in this case, with a community we know so well and who has done so much for us having been affected, we are hoping to separately raise funds for these repairs. So far we have received direct requests from twelve households for windows and doors from elderly, disabled, and unemployed residents. The local administration has forwarded on requests from a further eight. We have not yet done measurements but imagine the cost will come to around £10,000 (£500 per house). We are also anticipating this number will rise: fifty homes were damaged and very few people are in a position to pay for repairs themselves or are eligible for compensation. Just as our work is impossible without your support, it is also impossible without the support of this community, and we really hope that we will be able to collect together the funds needed to support them.
We understand the concerns you may have about donating for repairs somewhere which has only just been targeted, hence separately fundraising for this particular emergency situation. However, unfortunately this is the reality right now. People need to be able to live in their homes and go on with their lives; this is not a frontline area and instead is a bustling town to which 97% of residents have already returned. The first night after the attack, the neighbourhood emptied out as most people spent the night on friends’ sofas in other parts of the town or in Kharkiv, but now, two days later, the majority have moved back, and are living in homes without windows — and without electricity and water for several hours a day, as a result of the energy rationing introduced after last week’s infrastructure attacks.
Any donations, big or small, will make a huge difference as we do our best to help this community get past this new trauma. Thank you very much.
These are videos taken by Anna, another neighbour who often volunteers to help with the bureaucratic aspects of our work, for example making sure we get before and after photos of every house: