After two locations in Kharkiv, a night and having a rest, when our volunteers visited Izium, it was difficult to understand if they were in the town or still on the road. What they saw through the windows of their car were the ruins of once beautiful and prosperous town of Izium.
Behind every ruined block of flats there is a dozen of destroyed private houses. The view was terrible. Our beautiful and rich nature is now nothing but burnt and broken trees. The grass and flowers are barely growing after bombs, radiation and phosphorus. The town of Izium that our volunteer Roman Soldatov remembers does not exist anymore.
It resembles a city from the apocalypse movies, a city of war and battles. However, surprisingly there were around 60 auditory impaired people left, so the volunteers came to deliver humanitarian aid. We were warmly welcomed as people were happy to see their fellow Ukrainians from the deaf community. We have delivered 16 packages of humanitarian aid and warm clothes.
Are there any stores in the town? Yes, there are! However, not every citizen can afford buying products at skyrocketed prices, not to mention the ruined city and absence of jobs to support families, the sick and the elderly. People don’t live - they barely survive.
The locals made a small tour for us and told the story about the block of flats and the FAB-500 bomb it was hit with. The bomb hit the house, destroyed the buildings around and the ULCD (Ukrainian Local Community of the Deaf) center. The building that once was a cultural center and a cozy community house for the deaf is in ruins. People who were under the debris were crying for help after the bomb fell, but the Ukrainian military forces could not approach to help them as the city was constantly shelled by the russians. The shelling continued for a month, and when the Ukrainian forces finally arrived, it was too late to rescue anyone. The residents under the debris died of cold and hunger. Among the victims there were children.
This story terrifies, but the volunteers managed to bring the aid to Izium, It was only a part of the aid, it’s essential to provide help for those who life off their retirement aids and expect help. We ask each and everyone of you not to stay indifferent, to help financially and to donate.Every small act of help is a step to rescue one life of someone in need.
If not us, who? Let’s unite for victory and help!
