Three weeks ago, Solidarity Collectives returned from a humanitarian mission in the south of Ukraine. 

For over half a year, dozens of villages between Kherson and Mykolayiv were essentially the frontline, which had disastrous consequences: most buildings have been seriously damaged or destroyed completely. Together with Brigate volontarie, our comrades from Italy, and the Beauty studio initiative, we visited Posad-Pokrovske, Myrne, Luch, Partyzanske, and Soldatske.

Before the mission, we collected requests directly from the villagers through our friend Pasha Klymenko, who had dedicated almost a year to volunteering in the Mykolayiv Region. The residents of all five villages were unanimous: the region’s biggest need is to rebuild the destroyed housing. When the counteroffensive in the Kherson Region began, the shelling moved more to the south, and people began returning to their hometowns. But they often had to return to complete ruins, and it’ll be a while before government rebuilding programs start. So we brought electric screwdrivers and other power tools with batteries which they can use to rebuild their homes already this season. We are very pleased that this mission was a result of collective cooperation from start to finish: the responsible people in each village received five electric screwdrivers and a power saw, which they can then share to collectively rebuild even more houses. We also collected some regular construction tools which were also given to the locals.

The mission also visited Kherson. There we delivered some medicines and medical equipment, brought by our friend Ludovico from Italy, to the Tropiny Hospital, and adult hygiene pads for the gerontological nursing home.

We plan to continue supporting the residents of Kherson, Posad-Pokrovske, and other cities and towns with tools and construction materials to help them rebuild. And you can support us.