Can’t wait for the second housewarming. Stories of Kharkiv residents, whose house Russia almost took away – Publications

There are many broken houses on Pivdnya Saltivka in Kharkiv. Instead of windows and balconies – sheets of yellow plywood; in the courtyards and on the children’s playgrounds – the silence is broken again and again by Russian rockets.

The first year of the full-scale invasion was especially difficult for the residents of the Kharkov neighborhood closest to the occupiers. At that time, the district was constantly beaten in an attempt to seize at least one district of the city. Many apartments burned to the ground due to fires from direct hits.

In 2023, representatives of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) signed a memorandum of cooperation with the mayor of the city. Thus, LWF volunteers have been restoring apartments in Kharkiv for more than a year. This is not only the replacement of windows – if necessary, the destroyed apartments are overhauled and household appliances are provided.

“UP.Zhyttia” spoke with the head of the LWF and residents of restored apartments in Pivdnya Saltivka. They shared memories related to their apartments, talked about losing their home and their second housewarming.

“Rehabilitation of Ukrainian families, not just apartments”

Saltivskyi district is the most damaged part of Kharkiv. There are thousands of destroyed apartments.

Volunteers of the World Lutheran Federation work here every day: they restore the housing of the townspeople.

LWF Chairman Mark Mullan is originally from Ireland. He notes that his country has many common cultural values ​​with ours. For example, Ireland fought for almost 800 years with Great Britain – a colonial power – for independence, language, cultural and national identity.

“It is a privilege for me to stand side by side with the Ukrainian people in this difficult time and do everything possible to restore families and their homes now“, he notes.

When the famine started in Somalia, Mark had just started volunteering. This country became his first aid expedition, and later the man headed humanitarian missions of the European Commission in Rwanda, Congo and Syria.

“When the war started in Ukraine, in the heart of Europe, I realized that I had to contribute to helping people.

Before the war, I knew little about this country and its history. At first I decided to go there for a month or two, set up the work of the LWF and return home. How wrong I was!”– says the head of the volunteer organization.

In March 2023, Mark saw Kharkiv for the first time – a city of millions with tens of thousands of destroyed or damaged apartments. Residents became forced migrants, and many families needed humanitarian aid.

“We will focus on the rehabilitation of Ukrainian families, not just the apartments in which they live.

If necessary, the volunteer fund provides Kharkiv residents with household appliances, furniture and household items so that families can return to their native homes with dignity.”– says Mark.

Restoration of housing

In 2023, LWF helped rebuild 525 apartments in Kharkiv.

Housing restoration is conventionally divided into three types: light (replacement of windows and doors), medium (covers windows, doors, walls and ceilings) and major repairs (includes windows, doors, walls, ceilings, plumbing and electricity).

“I have repeatedly said that I would rather do one apartment well than a thousand apartments badly. I am aware that we are responsible to the families for the work done. I think she should be of the best quality I would want for my family in Ireland if we reversed roles“, the head of the LWF noted.

Mark Mullan explained that LWF’s housing program in Kharkiv focuses on meeting the complex needs of families. In other words, in addition to home repairs, people also receive psychological and psychosocial support, as well as legal assistance in restoring lost documents. In particular, documents on ownership of housing.

Like, for example, a 69-year-old pensioner Paul. His apartment, in which he lived for 35 years, disappeared on April 1, 2022.

“The house burned twice, but rescuers put out the flames. When I entered, I saw a lot of burnt furniture and appliances in the apartment. Thank God that at least he left the apartment…– he says.

Home of a 77-year-old woman Tamara also destroyed the fire after hitting the missile. The woman lived in her apartment for 36 years.

“On March 22, 2023, there was a fire that destroyed all the property – photos and memories of parents, husband and son.

September 13 was my birthday – on that day, volunteers started bringing building materials to my house. At that time, I felt hope that I would still have time to live in my apartment.”– she notes optimistically.

A pensioner’s apartment Nikolayin which he lived for 37 years, was completely destroyed by a direct hit of a projectile into a residential building.

“There were 36 apartments in our entrance – 22 of them burned down completely. My wife and I live among the residents.

Currently, the renovation is being completed here, there is electricity, heating, water supply, the walls have been plastered and the screed has been made on the floor. We can’t wait for the second housewarming.” he says.

Sergey, Vera and Alla also told their stories. Some of them have lived in the apartment for more than 40 years, and some have only bought it shortly before the invasion.

“Only the toilet remained intact”

On March 1, 2022, an aerial bomb destroyed the apartment building in which 54-year-old Sergey lived with his wife. In 2021, the man’s health worsened – diabetes progressed, and his leg had to be amputated above the knee.

“We have been living in this apartment for nine years. When my wife and I bought it, we did the repairs ourselves. All rooms are fully decorated. For a while, our daughter and granddaughter lived with us, so every corner is filled with memories.” – says Serhii warmly.

But their home, in which there were so many pleasant memories, was destroyed by a Russian missile.

“That day, my wife and I were at home, we just had dinner. I still wanted to go out on the balcony to have another smoke, but she suggested that I lie down for a while after eating. It was 13.10.

An explosion rang out in 5 minutes. One rocket flew into the factory opposite to which we live, and the other exploded in the yard of a high-rise building. All the windows and the balcony were blown out. It’s a good thing that we managed to cover ourselves with a blanket, all together with the dog. My wife was concussed a little, the skin was cut a little, but we were alive! Because many people died and were seriously injured that day.”– recalls Serhiy.

He says that it has become impossible to live in an apartment. In addition to the absence of windows and doors, the walls were also deformed.

“I remember how scary it was. I opened my eyes, but nothing was visible, like at night. A mosquito net flew into the apartment and got stuck between the ceiling and the wall. If one of us had stayed in the kitchen, he would not have survived, because his head would have been blown off.

The entrance door folded in half like a cardboard. The television was broken, the stretch ceilings were torn, the cabinets were smashed… Of everything in the apartment, only the toilet remained intact, and it was later stolen“, the man lists the losses.

Serhiy adds that the marauders later took everything that survived from the apartment – a table, stools, an artificial Christmas tree, which was in a box in the closet.

For several weeks, the husband and wife lived with their mother-in-law, and in April they left for abroad. But it was not possible to “settle” there – they returned after 5 months. Serhiy says that every day there was only one desire – to be at home again.

Serhiy and his wife lived in a rented apartment in Kharkiv for almost a year. At the same time, they tried to make repairs in their own apartment on their own.

The city council helped to find contractors who have already done full repairs in the couple’s apartment. Volunteers of the World Lutheran Organization were involved in the welfare. So in a month and a half Serhiy and his wife celebrated their second housewarming.

The windows and doors were restored, the walls were leveled and plastered, the bathroom was tiled and a new toilet and sink were installed. A set of necessary appliances was presented – a gas stove, a microwave oven, a washing machine, a kettle and a refrigerator.

“Although our apartment was restored, the feeling that life was bombarded by war remains, because shelling continues“, Serhiy says with pain.

“Bought an apartment shortly before the invasion”

“A few years ago, our family expanded – our daughter got married and we all lived together in a “single room”. And then a grandson was born, and the space became catastrophically small. So my husband and I bought a two-room apartment shortly before the invasion – in 2020.”– Alla says warmly.

The woman said that shortly before the start of the full-scale invasion, they started to make repairs in the new apartment.

“We almost had time to make one room.” – she clarifies with a smile.

But on March 6, a large family was forced to leave their home not only because of shelling, but also because of the lack of communications. Electricity, gas and water were also turned off.

Shrapnel constantly hit the windows, and the blast waves bent the window frames at new angles. The enemy’s attacks continued: in a few months, the windows completely failed, and the apartment became unfit for living in the winter.

“We knew about the destruction from our neighbors – they checked our apartment because we went to the west of the country. They began to visit the home in person from October 2022, but were in no hurry to return to it“, the woman notes.

Alla says that at first they rented housing in Kharkiv, but in a safer area. An application for renewal was left and it was confirmed in the second half of 2023.

“They changed the windows and replaced the toilet, because the water froze in it and because of the frost it “torn”.

We are planning to make the next room, but we don’t know when to start yet. Because the shelling of Kharkiv continues, the houses around are destroyed, the war continues”, says Alla.

But the woman hopes that soon the family will be able to return home, so that the rooms will be filled with children’s laughter and home comfort.

She lived without windows for a year and a half

“During the entire war, I never even left my apartment or went down to the basement.

It was my first real home. My husband and I moved into this apartment when I was 50 years old. We then furnished it with such love!” – recalls 84-year-old Vira.

Currently, the woman lives alone – her husband died 22 years ago, and she buried her son 11 years ago.

“All the windows in my apartment were broken from the first days, because across from my house there was a tram depot where the Russians shot. There were our defenders in the depot, who sometimes fired back, and we shook between them from the explosions.

When there were no windows, she covered them with bedspreads and blankets, hooked them on the eaves. I survived even severe frosts in March – the temperature dropped to -16°C, but I had an old duvet and down pillows, so I didn’t freeze.”she says.

Vera says that she lived like this for 8 months. In the fall of 2022, the wreath was covered with boards, and a year later, fiberglass structures were finally installed

“The apartment has had daylight again for several months now – I’m getting used to it, as if for the first time. I still can’t believe that I survived this horror. I don’t know what’s going on at the front, because I haven’t turned on the TV since February 2022”, says the woman.

She adds that all the time her neighbors helped her a lot – they brought food and water. Water supply was restored relatively recently – at the beginning of 2023, and electricity and gas were returned to the apartment in the summer.

Vera is optimistic: she says that with such conditions she is looking forward to victory.

Victoria Andreeva, UP. Life