Topol's'ke Aid Drop | NH4Ukraine.org

Topol's'ke

Once again, our good friend Alexey Palko put us in touch with some people who knew about one of so many villages who urgently need help to get by. With the help of the local military administrator and a volunteer translator, we basically went door-to-door to deliver large bags of food and hygiene to the few people trying to rebuild their lives in Topol’s’ke and a nearby village. It was a bitter cold, gray windy day, made warmer by the greetings and gratitude we received.
Only about 8% of the houses are habitable, the remainder being partially or totally demolished by the fighting that went on here. We had so many wonderful interactions with these residents, who were so grateful for the aid we brought.

The entire village looked like this; the vast majority of the houses and businesses partially or totally destroyed.

We met this woman at our first stop in the village. She came back to find a large hole in her house from some sort of explosive, and was lucky to have an aid org replace her large window. The house is in rough shape, but she's determined to repair it and try to make a go of it.

She desperately needs firewood to heat her home over the winter, but because of all the unexploded ordnance and mines in the area, she can't retrieve the wood that's right near her house, lest she set off an explosion.

Her cat.

This used to be the village store, now in ruins due to a tank round exploding inside it (hence the large hole).

Another hardy soul trying to rebuild.

As a thank you, this super-friendly couple insisted on giving us a thank you gift of some locally made Ukrainian moonshine. Anyone care to try it for us and let us know how it is?

Temporary housing provided by a nonprofit aid org to a few of the residents.

The remnants of the local gas station.

Saying goodbye to our partners/guides for the day.