Winterizing the Gymnasium: Restoring Dignity for 75 Displaced Survivors
Pillar: Relief & Community | Location: Uzhhorod | Beneficiaries: 75 IDPs
Uzhhorod has become a sanctuary for the displaced, but overcrowding means many are living in non-residential spaces. We identified a gymnasium housing 75 long-term displaced individuals, including 26 children and 20 seniors, who had been living there since March.
The conditions were critical. Without heating or proper furniture, families were sleeping on the gym floor—a direct source of conductive heat loss that makes staying warm nearly impossible, regardless of air temperature. Furthermore, the lack of appliances meant residents could not cook hot food, dry damp clothing, or maintain basic hygiene standards.
Targeted Habitat Upgrade In partnership with The World Orphan Fund, we executed a rapid upgrade of the facility to meet basic humanitarian standards.
Thermal Isolation: The priority was elevation. We procured and delivered beds and mattresses for all residents, immediately stopping the heat loss caused by sleeping on the floor. We supplemented this with heavy wool blankets for every individual.
Essential Life Support: To address the hygiene and dietary crisis, we supplied the "basic essentials" the facility lacked—enabling residents to finally boil water, cook hot meals, and dry their clothing, effectively sanitizing their living environment.
Partners in Efficiency This operation was made possible not just by donor funding, but by supply chain cooperation. We want to acknowledge Epicentr K for providing a generous commercial discount, allowing us to stretch our budget and cover the needs of every resident in the gym.
We didn't just deliver furniture; we delivered a baseline of human dignity to 75 people who had gone without it for too long.
