Ukraine: Cash assistance brings hope for Anna, a child with a disability

By Sofiia Borysenko, OCHA Ukraine

Anna is a happy girl, who loves smiling and playing with her two siblings. She and her family led a peaceful life in Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson, but on 24 February 2022, they woke to the sound of explosions.

Her mother, Kateryna, was worried and scared, as she knew that leaving Kherson would be complicated; Anna lives with a disability that confines her to a wheelchair.

Kateryna explained: “I begged my husband to go anywhere, just not to stay in that place. I knew moving Anna is not easy, but there was only one thing in my head: We needed to save our children; we needed to take them away.”

They moved to Romania during the first weeks of the war. Kateryna decided to return to Ukraine some months later, to be closer to their family. They received cash assistance from Save the Children and support from other humanitarian organizations in Romania and started their return journey.

As Kherson was still under Russian control and under attack, the family opted to take refuge in Chernivtsi, in western Ukraine, where Save the Children, with support from the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF), helped them with cash assistance.

Kateryna was grateful for the support, as it helped them buy Anna a new wheelchair.

“Thank God we were able to pay for a wheelchair for our daughter,” she said. “The old one was small and painful for Anna to use.”

In 2022, the UHF’s implementing partners supported nearly 4 million people, such as Kateryna and her family, who have been affected by the war in Ukraine. With generous support from 28 donors, the UHF allocated more than US$192 million to 56 humanitarian partners, enabling the implementation of more than 100 projects to support people whose lives have been devasted by the war.