Ukrainian IDP Family Buys House with the Received Cash Assistance

A family of four, Oksana, Anton and their 2 children left Dokuchaevsk (non-government controlled area of Donetsk region) several years ago when the intensive shelling attacks made it unsafe for them to stay there. The family moved to a small village, Mykolaivka, in the Ukraine government controlled area (GCA), hoping to start a new life in a safer environment. Unfortunately, they could only afford to rent a cheap house with poor living conditions. Additionally, the unemployment rates are high and it’s very difficult to find a job that pays enough to provide for their family, but Oksana and Anton did all they could to find a job in order to survive. They started helping with their neighbors’ household for which they received some money. However, it wasn’t enough to meet their family’s basic needs. By the summer of 2018, they changed several houses, because the landlords kept selling their houses, causing further instability for the family.

Terre des hommes (Tdh), the consortium partner of Dorcas and SOS Children’s Villages in Ukraine, visited the family and saw the almost ruined rented house with broken windows and a family whose resilience was at its limits. Several weeks later, Tdh informed the family that they were selected to receive cash assistance in the amount of 13,760 UAH in 2 payments. Right after this news, the family started looking for a house to buy. They found a house for 10,000 UAH in the nearby village in GCA, Novoignativka, and bought it within 2 months with the cash assistance they received. As the house was abandoned for some time, it requires renovation, which the family is planning to do in the summer of 2019. The money that was left after the purchase of the house, the family used to buy food and school supplies for their children.

Although living in their own newly bought house gives this family stability, it is still hard to find employment with sufficient pay. Therefore, the family continues helping with their neighbors’ household activities, to make the ends meet. Their 13 year old daughter and 11 year son attend a local school, where they also participate in the psycho-social support activities organized by Tdh. This helps them build relationships with new classmates and recover from the stress caused by the armed conflict.

12 February 2019