Repairing a broken life: how “Dobrobat” volunteers rebuild destroyed villages

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The small village of Yagidne in the Chernihiv district is not just a point on the map of Ukraine. This is the site of one of Russia’s long list of horrific war crimes. During the occupation of Chernihiv region in the spring of 2022, almost the entire population of the village – 360 people – was kept in a cramped, damp and cold cellar for 25 days. The youngest of the hostages was only 3 months old, the oldest was more than 90 years old. They froze, starved, suffocated, died… The occupiers did not even allow them to bury the dead, driving people back underground with shots. When the region was liberated and the people were finally free, they were horrified by what they saw – their native village was almost completely destroyed. “Dobrobat” volunteers came to help the victims. This is a completely volunteer initiative that currently operates in seven regions of the country: people gather in teams and help rebuild damaged and destroyed housing, dismantle debris, clear the territory, etc. In total, 49,000 volunteers passed through the ranks of Dobrobat. People cried – everyone has their own tragedy Yaroslav Motsenko is one of those who works in the mutilated villages of Chernihiv Oblast. He is a professional builder with 20 years of experience. Before the full-scale invasion, he built in Kyiv and near the capital, built houses from scratch, worked, in particular, with original projects that were difficult to implement. Had a turn six months ahead. During the Great War, Yaroslav decided that he would help people rebuild their homes absolutely free of charge. He says that after founding the volunteer construction battalion “Dobrobat”, he realized that he should be there: “I registered with “Dobrobat” through Telegram and got to Yagidne in early June 2022. I came for two weeks, and I am still rebuilding the Chernihiv region. There were not enough professional masters. People were crying, because everyone has their own tragedy, and I realized that I could not go.” “Dobrobat” volunteers One of the most destroyed streets in Yagidny is Lisova street. A museum should be built here in the future, but it is still far from that – reconstruction is ongoing. Separately, the man talks about the house at Lisova Street, 5 – it is a special story for him. A direct hit by an enemy missile literally cut off half of this house, everything collapsed and burned. The other half of the house stood like a broken skeleton. “I talked to the owner of the house, Oksana Mazur, when she came from Khmelnytskyi from her husband’s parents,” the volunteer recalls. There was a lot of work, I talked to the leadership of the Chernihiv battalion, I really asked them to give me people. And we did everything. We finished the house in November, it turned out very nice. The owners asked for another hole to be bricked up on the porch. only the name. I looked, I think there is masonry here, and I made a real porch, put columns, concreted the stairs. They deserved it, they fight, they protect us.” Yaroslav became friends with the family – with Oksana’s husband Vasyl, their son. He once brought socks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – a very symbolic gift for a builder. Everyone in Yagidny knows Yaroslav Motsenko. The man has warm friendly relations with many whom he helped restore their houses. “One day Mrs. Lydia, where we worked, brought her grandson Oleksii, a soldier on rotation, to meet him,” he says. “No, thank you, Dobrobat, for coming and rebuilding us, our parents. And it makes it easier for us to fight when we know that our families are safe. They do not visit friends, but live in their own homes. It doesn’t drip down their necks, the wind doesn’t blow through the windows.” I was extremely impressed by these words, I realized that I’m doing everything right, I’m in my place in this difficult time,” the volunteer adds. Read also: Kramatorsk: the story of foreign volunteers who survived the rocket attack on Ria Pizza In 2022, volunteers in Yagidny repaired and built many roofs from scratch so that people could move in during the winter. In every “Dobrobat” brigade, there are those who work alongside professional builders, and those who have never done this before have a profession far from construction: “Then many men learned how to make roofs. And now they work in the Kyiv “Dobrobat” and are already making roofs themselves. And I, having taught, can focus on erecting walls, construction.” “When the sun shines, I sit on a stump, and when it rains, I stand under a tree.” The fame of the boys from “Dobrobat” spread throughout the surrounding villages. “Once a woman from Kolychivka, a nearby village, came up and asked her to help too. Her son is at the front,” says Yaroslav. servicemen: Ms. Olga’s husband died at the front last year, we repaired the roof in her house. Ms. Natalya also did not wait for her husband from the front, he died a month and a half ago… Or people come whose son died on the first day of the great war – like me Can I refuse? On the weekends, somewhere they helped rebuild sheds, rake and take away garbage.” Restoration of a house by “Dobrobat” volunteers They also worked in the village of Krasne, rebuilding a house for local volunteer Pavlo: he has his own sawmill, provides firewood for the community and military families. Once Yaroslav was approached by the headman of Kolychivka. She told a story about a grandmother whose house burned down. Although there was no time at all, the volunteer went to see: “Grandma leads me through the overgrown yard, points to a stump and says: when the sun shines, I sit on the stump, and when it rains, I stand under a tree and ask my neighbor. They asked me to build maybe a shed above the cellar, so that the old woman could hide and hide a shovel. He rushed to build, but there were no materials. They gave it out in the rural council, but she did not take it, because there was no fence, she was afraid that everything would be stretched. I began to collect from friends who could. Volunteer Pavlo cut blocks for 4 thousand hryvnias. I ask how to calculate, and he tells me: what are you laughing at, this is for a burned-out grandmother. Then there were not enough boards, volunteers from Chernihiv brought them, then volunteers from Kolychivka gave 10 sheets. As if small objects, and for pensioners it is happiness,” says the builder.
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They continue to work to make people who have lost everything a little bit happier. Among those who were helped, there are many widows and orphans. “One man went to a neighboring village to visit his daughter from his first marriage and blew himself up with a mine. The other man was found shot dead in the basement by his daughters, with his hands tied,” says Yaroslav. Volunteers are not only engaged in repairs, they also build from scratch. Now several houses are being built in Yagidny. “A family of pensioners, the husband after a stroke, lived in the garage for some time, and then people let them into their apartment near the school. According to the Latvian program, we were provided with building materials for 60 square meters. We built walls, put a roof, windows are still in the process. Two more families – pensioners, two children without husbands and three grandchildren huddled in a dormitory. At the beginning of September, we will rent out their house,” promises Yaroslav. People who work at “Dobrobat” Yaroslav, of course, he does not work alone. There are many fantastic people with him in “Dobrobat”. “I was very impressed by the Pole Machei, a lawyer by profession,” says Yaroslav. “When I arrived, I didn’t even understand the Ukrainian language. The young people talked to him in English. We became friends over time. When there was food left at dinner, I always took it and passed it on.” My stepfather said that the bunny gave him a gift. At first he didn’t understand this phrase, and then he began to convey greetings to the bunny. We had such a joke.” Once they took Machei to a holiday in the village: “In the villages there is a feast. The temple is always big tables, guests come. Machei comes in and says: what, we have to eat it all? And such big eyes. That’s how we showed our guest Ukrainian traditions.” . “Dobrobat” volunteers Impressed Yaroslav and Hanna Domoroslova: she was born in Ukraine, but at the age of 5 she emigrated with her family to the Czech Republic. She met the beginning of a full-scale invasion in Kyiv, where she came to visit her grandmother. Her parents begged her to leave, but she stayed and became an active volunteer. She joined “Dobrobat”, from the summer until the New Year she worked with Yaroslav in the Chernihiv region: “She has a big Ukrainian heart, although she does not have a Ukrainian passport. She is a great young lady. Now she works in the Kyiv branch of “Dobrobat”. Although she is not a professional builder, but does everything. Such people are called Volunteer with a capital letter. There were two more Kyivan girlfriends. Now they are serving: Kateryna Shcherbina went to “Azov”, and Hanna Romanova mobilized in the ZSU. We keep in touch. They are young, beautiful, want to serve and want to be useful.” According to Yaroslav Motsenko, the people in “Dobrobat” are all very interesting, each with their own story, but they are all united by values: to help, to support, to make a significant contribution to the common victory every day. Roksana Kasumova, specially for “UP. Life” Read also: Russian terrorist attack on the Savior. What is known about those who were killed and wounded by a Russian missile in Chernihiv

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