Once, on New Year's Eve, Mykola, a resident of Dvorichne, went to visit a friend. His friend was left without a wife, eating only peas and beans, and so on... Mykola took a jar of tomatoes, bacon, and, of course, bread and something stronger to it. After all, New Year's Eve is a holy occasion. He got ready to visit, and on his way back, Mykola met a Russian drone. It didn't matter that he was in his seventies and had never been in the military. The “heroic” Russian drone pilot did not spare Mykola. Head of the evacuation team Serhiy Kharlamov with Mykola The explosion contused the man, and shrapnel hit his legs so much that he lost a lot of blood from his heart. Mykola would not have celebrated the New Year if his friend hadn't come running to find out what the drone had done. He waited for four hours for medical help, but first the soldiers helped Mykola by putting splints on his injured legs. They only asked him to return the tires when the need for them passed, as they no longer had any. Then he was taken to Kupyansk, where qualified specialists fought for his life. Mykola regained consciousness only a day later in the Kharkiv Regional Hospital. Kharkiv doctors tried to save him for almost a month. Fortunately, they succeeded. At the moment, Mykola is still bedridden, his legs are fixed with the Elizarov apparatus, but the prospect of recovery is quite reliable. However, now the next dilemma arises: how to bring a patient in such a situation from the hospital to his home. Especially with the critical shortage of ambulances and the fact that the patient lives 120 kilometers away in the countryside. It should also be added that Mykola is a corpulent man, as they say, and his unhealed wounds cause him severe pain with every careless movement. This is where the medical and evacuation crews of the "Volunteer - 68" team come in handy, as they make their flights on a daily basis. Just transferring a person in this condition from a hospital bed to a medical gurney is no longer a challenge. It is technically, physically and emotionally difficult. Getting such a patient to their destination on war-torn roads is also not easy. However, lifting him on a soft stretcher up several floors, through stairwells of the Soviet design that were not adapted for this purpose, without causing him pain, is a task on the verge of being impossible. It was difficult to transport Mykola, but the experience and goodwill of the "Volunteer - 68" crew helped to make it as correct and psychologically easy as possible. For this, the volunteers heard many words of gratitude from Mr. Mykola and his wife Tetyana, as the guys deserved them. Artur Vsevolozhskyi

In the NGO “CNGD ‘Volunteer-68’,” there is a special unit that, by the form and essence of its activity, is called “Caregiver.” Currently, these are women—mostly IDPs—who have prior experience in the field of social or medical training. They work in dormitories in Kharkiv, where elderly people evacuated from combat zones and threatened territories are now residing. All of them have IDP status and, for the most part, suffer from serious physical limitations.   On average, each caregiver has about fifteen wards. Their responsibilities include monitoring compliance with proper hygiene, nutrition, and timely medication intake. On a social level, our colleagues can help with grocery and medicine purchases. They can call a doctor or contact case managers regarding legal issues, humanitarian aid, transportation, or any personal problems that arise among the beneficiaries of NGO “CNGD ‘Volunteer-68’.”   However, the main aspect of their work, arising from the very nature of their activity, is psychological support and emotional engagement during interactions between caregivers and their wards. Listening, calming, and instilling hope in the hearts of elderly, often disoriented, and sometimes seriously ill people is the daily task of our colleagues. At the same time, remaining empathetic and positive is a prerequisite for professional and deeply responsible performance of their duties. One might think these are just dry facts and the functions of executors, but behind them lie human relationships, often filled with high emotional tension. The wards miss their caregivers: there is room for everything here—resentment, secrets, and jealousy. Riding the crest of this emotional wave, caregivers “surf” through psychological swings even beyond their shifts.   To strengthen resilience and enhance the overall awareness of our caregivers, NGO “CNGD ‘Volunteer-68’” has initiated and conducted a series of training courses on psychology, first aid, rehabilitation, and legal aspects of caring for vulnerable population groups. In this way, we strive to express our respect and interest in the personal growth and emotional well-being of our colleagues. At the beginning of spring, it is customary in the post-Soviet space to congratulate women on “Women’s Day.” Regardless of the overly sexualized and gendered nature this red date acquired in the former USSR, Women's Solidarity Day still signifies gender emancipation and social progress, rather than just male attention with flowers.    However, social progress, enriched by women's intuition, makes it seemingly incomparably more inclusive for all social strata, branches, and niches that make up humanity.   And the symbol of this more inclusive world, which does not leave behind the poor and sick, nor those who do not fit into conventional norms, can arguably be the figure of the Caregiver.   So, despite the fact that early March in our region is traditionally cold and gloomy, and in present times also explosive and bloody, we congratulate our women caregivers, along with women worldwide, on this bright holiday of Empathy and Progress. Artur Vsevolozhskyi

The crews of the NGO "Volunteer - 68" carry out evacuation flights to rescue people with limited mobility not only from the threatened frontline areas. We have also repeatedly participated in events coordinated by the office of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets to exchange Ukrainians who remained in the occupied territories against their will. It has always been about evacuating civilians with physical disabilities, which is the specificity and priority of our organization. On New Year's Eve 2025, the crew of the "Volunteer - 68" went to the border with Belarus to pick up sixteen-year-old Georgiy, a disabled person since childhood diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Heorhiy came under occupation, one might say, from the first hours of the war, because at the time of the invasion he was in a children's neurological dispensary in Oleshky. His brother Petro, his only relative, had been trying to get his younger brother back for almost three years. And finally, thanks to the joint efforts of the Ombudsman's Office, special services and exchange negotiation teams, it became possible. At first, Heorhiy was sent from Oleshky to Moscow, where, according to him, he was fattened up. The Russians probably intended the exchange to bring them a certain media bonus: look how caring we are. Then the guy was sent to Minsk, where Petro met him, and from there the brothers were taken to a certain place on the border with Ukraine, where the evacuation crew of the "Volunteer - 68" Center was waiting for them. Unfortunately, we cannot tell you exactly how our crew was organized to enter the territory of Belarus, because it was a special operation, the details of which were insisted upon by the curators of the exchange. However, our colleagues crossed the Belarusian-Ukrainian border in a completely trivial way - through a checkpoint. From that moment on, the trip became completely regular and even routine. After all, the journey from Novi Yarylovychi on the border to Cherkasy, in the heart of Ukraine, was unusually calm and safe. Now Heorhiy, a surprisingly nice guy, is being taken care of in a specialized institution in Cherkasy. We wish him all the best in life.   Artur Vsevolozhskyi

Inclusion drive 2.0 The "Inclusion Drive 2.0" project is an important step in creating an accessible and comfortable environment for everyone who needs support. As part of the project, renovation work has begun at the rehabilitation center, a family shelter that will become a safe and cozy place for people with disabilities and people in difficult life circumstances. The main goal of the project is to ensure equal access to rehabilitation services, provide psychological support, and facilitate adaptation to new conditions. All inclusive standards are taken into account during the renovation work: installation of specialized equipment, arrangement of convenient entrances and spacious rooms for people with disabilities, as well as creation of comfortable living conditions for all residents of the shelter. The project not only aims to physically transform the space, but also to create a community where everyone feels accepted and supported. The "Inclusion Drive 2.0" project is being implemented as part of the EMPOWER initiative, which is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in cooperation with the European Union and implemented by GIZ Ukraine.

EVACUATION We are together with you all the way to safety: evacuate people with reduced mobility, people with disabilities, the elderly and their family members; we find a place for a long stay in safer regions of Ukraine or Europe; we build a route; we buy tickets; we deliver wards to trains and buses; we agree with all participants of the evacuation chain; we care about safety and comfort. Out of gallery