New modular homes open outside Lviv for displaced Ukrainian families
By Jarosław Herman
7/17/2024
Source
Ten families displaced by the war in eastern and northern Ukraine have new homes in Briukhovychi, a suburb of Lviv, thanks to a modular housing initiative sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and implemented by Mudra Sprava, a patriarchal foundation of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Many of them come from occupied or recently liberated territories and initially found shelter in a nearby rehabilitation center also supported by the Knights. Now they have the dignity, privacy and stability of a tiny house of their own.
“Thanks to the Ukraine Solidarity Fund, we were able to provide not only a roof over the heads of dozens of Ukrainian families, but also a chance to start a new life in better conditions,” said Ukraine State Deputy Mykola Mostovyak.
The modular homes officially opened July 12 with a ceremony attended by Knights of Columbus and Ukrainian Greek Catholic leaders, including State Deputy Mostovyak, Past State Deputy Youriy Maletskiy and Father Volodymyr Malchyn, head of the development office at the UCGG’s Patriarchal Curia. Father Lubomyr Yavorsky, director of Mudra Sprava (Wise Cause) and one of the first Ukrainian Knights, blessed the homes and the Knights presented residents with symbolic gifts.
According to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, approximately 6.5 million Ukrainians now live outside the country, while about 3.6 million Ukrainians are currently displaced internally. Roughly one-third of all Ukrainians have been forced to evacuate their homes, many of them to the western part of the country, which has not been as severely impacted by the war.
Among them are Tatiana and her two children. The family, who spent seven months under Russian occupation in the Kherson region before escaping west, recently moved into one of the modular houses.
“I miss home, [but] now I have a cozy home where I can cook by myself, read quietly, invite guests, have tea with them in a separate room while the children are in another,” Tatiana said. “I just don’t know how to thank God and praise Jesus Christ that we are here, among such people.”
A GLIMPSE OF HOPE
When the war started, millions of lives changed in an instant. Many people lost homes they spent their lives building, and with them all their belongings.
“We never thought we would ever leave our homes or be forced to flee because of the war,” Tatiana said. For the past two years, her husband has served in the Ukrainian military; though he has been injured several times, he continues to fight for Ukraine’s freedom in the Kupiansk region.
For Tatiana and her children, life under occupation forces was fraught with fear. On her way to work, she would hide in the bushes to avoid Russian soldiers, who taunted and humiliated her and many others in nasty ways. On one occasion, she witnessed her neighbor being detained by 40 soldiers after posting a social media message supporting Ukraine.
Still, the decision to flee her home was difficult. “Being displaced is such a burden on the soul,” she said.
Knowing that refugees are usually sheltered in gyms, schools and kindergartens, Tatiana thought it was impossible that she and her family would be able to live together in a house before the war ended. She is happy to be proved wrong, saying, “We realize how lucky we are.”
Like Tatiana, Alla and her two children are new residents of a modular house. The family from Konotop initially took shelter with relatives before moving west and finding accommodation at the rehabilitation center in Briukhovychi, where her husband joined a military unit.
“When you thought it would all be over in two to three days or two to three weeks, but it continued — that had a huge effect on our psychological, physical and emotional state, and on our hope for the future,” she explained. Many people have stopped hiding during rocket fire because they are so mentally tired of war.
“Children are confused; we live in uncertainty. It feels like you’ve been abandoned,” Alla continued. “Now, after our loss, we have a chance to have our own home. Such moments of stability really save people. It inspired some hope for the future.”
Having the right living conditions, Alla will be able to contribute to the assistance herself. “Now, we have the resources and the strength to help our country,” she said. “We are very grateful that abroad, the Knights understand that here are people, living people.”
MORE THAN A SHELTER
The families who are moving into the modular houses previously lived in the rehabilitation center in Briukhovychi funded by the Knights of Columbus. Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly, Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki of Lviv and Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Galicia, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, officially opened the center in December 2022.
It became a safe home for many refugees, at one point housing around 100 people. The opening of the modular homes has created more space in the center, improving living conditions for the residents still there and allowing parts of the building to be used for its original purpose — providing services for refugees. What’s more, there will be rooms available in case of a new influx of internally displaced persons, which may happen, especially in winter.
Meanwhile, 10 modular houses have been built so far, and there is potential to build up to 25 more. Most of the houses consist of a bedroom, living room, bathroom and fully equipped kitchen. Though they are designed to be assembled quickly, the process of building and furnishing them has sometimes been delayed by wartime conditions.
“We often experienced blackouts. Without electricity, you cannot do much, because you do not have the equipment,” explained Father Malchyn. “It’s quite different to work in this wartime in Ukraine. There is a shortage of professional workers.”
However, Father Malchyn says that with adequate financial support, the experience they’ve gained in the process could bear fruit and expand the project very quickly.
The modular houses will serve not only as shelter — a decent place to live and resolve very practical issues — but as a place of complex and long-term help for the families, at least to the end of the war.
“We want to give those people not just housing, we want to accompany them during this challenge,” Father Malchyn said.
The residents will have the opportunity to receive psychological help, as many of them have severe wartime experiences. They will also be offered spiritual support, as there will be a priest specifically dedicated to this issue.
“The modular housing project gives refugees the opportunity to live together, creating a sense of community and support,” said State Deputy Mostovyak. “In this way, the Knights of Columbus unite people affected by war, providing them with a safe place to live and socialize.”
“I’d like to express gratitude on behalf of Ukrainian people who are suffering this unjust and unprecedented military aggression. When you hear all those stories, when you see specific people whom you are helping, when you look into their eyes … this is a real ray of hope for them,” said Father Malchyn.
Father Yavorsky noted that the aid flowing into Ukraine has decreased exponentially as the world grows tired of the war. “And we in Ukraine cannot get tired,” he said. “I think it is better for everyone to be in a position of support than in a position of deprivation, because it means that God has given you peace, he has given you the ability to help. We are standing with arms outstretched in order to survive, and we ask our friends not to get tired.”
Major Archbishop Shevchuk also expressed his gratitude to the Order for its support of the modular homes.
“This is a clear, visible sign of God’s love that works through Christian solidarity,” Major Archbishop Shevchuk said. “Today I would like to thank the Knights of Columbus for carrying out works of sacrificial Christian love in Ukraine, especially towards those who are most vulnerable.”
To learn more about our work in Ukraine and to support those efforts, visit kofc.org/ukraine.
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JAROSŁAW HERMAN writes from Kraków, Poland.