Kucherske, Kherson: Reaching the Forgotten Elderly

Pillar: Relief & Community Recovery | Mission Volume: 44 Units | Context: Post-Occupation Isolation

On June 11, 2025, Bird of Light Ukraine deployed a precision delivery of 44 food boxes to the village of Kucherske in the Kherson region.

In the context of our 10,000-box campaign, 44 units is a rounding error. But in the context of Kucherske, it is a saturation-level event. This village has been hollowed out by the war. Most of the working-age population has fled, leaving behind a demographic that is almost exclusively elderly—residents who physically cannot evacuate or have nowhere else to go.

Scars of Occupation Kucherske lived under Russian occupation from the spring of 2022 until liberation on November 10, 2022. While the occupiers have left, the infrastructure has not returned.

The village is effectively a "food desert." Store shelves are empty, commercial logistics have not resumed, and financial hardship is absolute. For the seniors remaining here, the challenge is not just the constant threat of shelling, but the simple inability to buy food even if it were available.

Stability for the Isolated For these 44 households, a 13.2kg food box is not supplemental; it is their primary source of nutrition.

• Caloric Security: The 40,399 calories in each box ensure that an elderly couple has a secure baseline of flour, grains, and protein for weeks.

• Economic Relief: By providing high-cost items like oil, canned meat, and coffee, we free up their limited pensions for other critical needs, like medicine or heating.

This delivery highlights the granularity of our partnership with VPO Ukraine. While many organizations focus on the main roads, VPO drivers navigated to this specific coordinate to ensure the elderly of Kucherske were not forgotten.

This mission—and the thousands of boxes surrounding it—was funded by Diamondback Energy and The World Orphan Fund, ensuring that aid reaches not just the cities, but the silent villages in the grey zone.