The people we support

Direct Support for Ukraine is working with Yuliya now. With your donations we hope to be able to widen our support to others like her.

YULIYA IN KYIV

Caring for children and young people with special needs who cannot flee the war.

An Introduction from Nataliya

Yuliya has been supporting children and young adults with very special needs in Ukraine for several years now. Their life has always been difficult, but current war made things almost impossible (how can a single mum move a 14 year old bed ridden boy to a bomb shelter on short notice?).

The other day we were having a late evening call (she had spent whole day trying to find adult nappies in different humanitarian aid centres – all to no avail) and she promised to write more about “her” children later after the conversation (I do notice the tenderness in her voice as she says "her"). Late at night, I get a brief message that there were more rockets flying by Yuliya’s house and she had to organize a sleeping space for herself and her daughter in the corridor.

Next day, despite broken sleep, she sends me a long list of needs of families she supports… and now it is my turn to loose sleep… because of everything these families are going through.

I hope we can help.

Yuliya Lamash is a volunteer supporting almost 60 children and young adults with severe disabilities who grow up in single parent households. These 6- to 19-year-olds suffer a number of medical conditions such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy and genetic disorders. Almost all the children are bed ridden, need nappies every day, eat blended or specialized food, some of them also need a gluten free or a dairy free diet. The majority of them need medications to support them, physiotherapy and everyday care help as they cannot look after themselves. Many of these children are behind their peers in physical development, their weight and height are well below the average age standards. In all but one family, fathers are not present (mothers are raising children on their own).

One impact of the war has been that sponsors and other funding sources are no longer available. She needs our support to be able to buy the essential things the children need such as nappies, medicines, special nutritional foods and clothing.

The families Yuliya supports

Yura is 14 years old. He has cerebral palsy and lives with his mum on the 3rd floor of an old building without an elevator. During the air raids his mum cannot carry him downstairs to the basement. Since the war started, Yura spends most of his time in the corridor which has no windows. This is the safest place to be as it is made of structural load bearing walls. Poltava, where they live, has been bombed many times.

Yura finds the sounds of the air raid sirens very distressing. His mother tells him fairy tales to comfort him.

Karolina, age 7, has cerebral palsy and a lot of issues with her knees. She has already had 3 operations. She used to live in Kyiv but when the bombing started, she and her mother moved to Fastov, a town not far from Kyiv. But even there, they had rockets flying over their heads and once it was so close, they thought that was the end. The rocket exploded at the nearby factory.

Explosion not far from the house in which Karolina and her family are staying

Karolina urgently needs a new specialized pushchair, she has outgrown her normal stroller and frequent uncontrolled movements of her head mean that she often hurts herself against the sides of the old pushchair. The family doesn’t have money to buy a new one.

This is the cellar where Karolina and her family hide during air raids.

Vanya, aged 12, has cerebral palsy, is blind and partially deaf. He is learning to stand with foot splints. He can hear only very loud noises but loves music.

After a recent growth spurt Vanya needs new clothing which his family cannot afford

Vlad, age 18 has cerebral palsy and is very small for his age – only 110 cm tall; he is very skinny too. Yet he smiles a lot. He lives with his mother in a house that doesn’t have running water and his mum has to get it from the well. The food is cooked on a fire stove which mum needs to bring wood for.

Vlad with his mother (left) and Yuliya (right)

The wood fired stove where water is heated and meals prepared

The well from which Vlad’s mother draws water