By CHRISTINE BAER | Grants Manager
In response to the large-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, AHAH supported the needs of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), along with those of their host communities, who have been directly affected by the conflict and now residing in Zakarpattia Oblast.
The project sought to address two areas for making an impact - infrastructure upgrades and recurring community engagement activities.
1. Construction/Infrastructure Upgrades:
We sought to operate a program to support the needs of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s) within the Zakarpatska Oblast by working with volunteers to improve spaces that host IDPs and which have limitations in terms of liveability (presence of mold, loose plaster and unsafe floors) and aesthetics (old paint, broken and rotten doors, floors without maintenance). Uzhgorod University has several dormitories around the city that host more than 1,000 IDPs and that is where we focused our efforts.
In total, AHAH volunteer teams provided complete interior renovations including upgrades to:
For a total renovation of:
This objective had a total direct impact on 212 Internally Displaced Persons.
2. Community Engagement Activities
By providing psychosocial support to IDPs and local communities and engaging kids and adults in meaningful activities such as an English club, we are addressing both social connectedness and the urgent need for indirect psycho-social support to help individuals and vulnerable groups, such as the Roma community, recover from traumatic experiences caused by the conflict. 7 local partners joined with us to implement these meaningful activities.
English Club sessions focused on stimulating conversation in a fun and interesting way. Most of the time was spent playing conversational games alongside a small piece of grammar for a tangible aspect. These sessions were delivered across 5 locations for a total of 252 engagements.
Children's Art Club sessions were delivered across 3 locations for a total of 63 sessions.
Engaging in activities like English and Art clubs offer a sense of community, reducing feelings of isolation and providing a supportive space where individuals can share experiences and build relationships and empower IDPs by giving them a sense of purpose and control over their lives.
3. Overall Program Impact
93 unique volunteers contributed 11,498 hours of volunteer labor to positively impact 773 Internally Displaced Persons through collective housing renovations and community engagement activities.
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR WORK!
By Christine Baer | Grants Manager
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