Heat for Hope. Helping families in frontline and border communities

A truck packed to the brim with fuel briquettes stops at almost every yard in Rizdvianka. This village in Zaporizhzhia Oblast is close to the front. Despite incessant shelling, more than 90% of residents have stayed. Yet the tension grows every day. During the latest attack, Russians dropped several powerful bombs on Rizdvianka. The strike hit the school and destroyed several houses. One woman was injured.

Nataliia Boiko, a former teacher, was at home during the attack. “The house was literally shaking,” she says.

“There were three strikes in a row. I was so scared I fell off the bed onto the floor, then crawled under the table—I couldn’t get out from under it out of fear. Only my windows blew out, but others lost their houses, the school burned down. My heart just leaps out of my chest.”

Like most of her fellow villagers, Nataliia heats her home with a stove. Since the start of the war, firewood has become a real treasure. The surrounding forest are mined, and suppliers do not dare to enter the village due to shelling. So, when a tractor unloaded 3.5 tonnes of fuel briquettes into the pensioner’s yard, she could hardly hold back her tears of gratitude:

“I am so grateful! They brought them, delivered them, unloaded them—and all for free! We have no place to get firewood! I live alone, in one small room. These briquettes will last me the whole winter.”

In Rizdvianka, 100 families will receive fuel briquettes through support from the American people. Our team works quickly and efficiently to deliver the fuel before the frosts. Residents of nearby villages will also receive briquettes. In four other communities of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, people will receive cash assistance to buy fuel. 

In neighboring Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, we are helping residents of Marhanets survive the winter. The city is constantly under attack from heavy artillery and FPV drones. Assistance goes to residents with stove heating who belong to vulnerable groups—the elderly, people with disabilities and serious illnesses, large families, and displaced persons.

“The community specifically requested cash assistance. This way, residents can choose and buy the type of fuel that suits them best. Upon registration and approval, people receive 19,400 hryvnias (€397 ) directly into their accounts. This allows them to purchase any type of solid fuel: firewood, coal, or briquettes,” explains Yevheniia Ohiienko, Programme Officer at People in Need.

Registration for assistance takes place in one of the city’s facilities. Locals note that because of bad weather Russians launch fewer drones, so today the process is calm. “My pension is 3,300 hryvnias (€67). How can I buy fuel with that?” says Yurii, who just sat down at the table with our assistant.

“We register up to a hundred people a day. To avoid crowds, we assign each person a specific time. Sometimes we have to interrupt registration because of air raid alerts. Yesterday, for example, there were many drones, so we had to go down to the shelter,” says local assistant Olena Kotova. 

In Marhanets, we plan to support 2,132 families. Among those counting on our assistance is Tetiana Smirnova, a mother of six. Her house was destroyed by shelling, so the family moved to Marhanets.

“Last year I also received this help. I bought firewood and some coal. I have a child with a disability who needs constant care, so I can’t work. Social benefits are very small. I simply don’t have the money to buy firewood for winter,” Tetiana shares.

Iryna Berezhna, together with her four children, moved to Marhanets from occupied Luhansk Oblast:

“At first, we lived in Dnipro, in the gym of a sports school, then in a kindergarten. Later volunteers found us a little house in Marhanets. It was unfit for living, but volunteers helped us fix it up,” she recalls.

Now Iryna’s younger sons, aged 15 and 13, have their own rooms. The house still needs repairs, so the money saved on fuel will be a great support for the family.