Yahidne, in the Chernihiv region of northern Ukraine, is one of hundreds of Ukrainian villages that endured the horrors of occupation at the beginning of the full-scale war. Over 300 local residents were forced to spend a month in the basement of the village school, living in unbearable conditions with little food and medicine.
The UNFPA-supported Mobile Survivor Relief Centre continues to provide ongoing support to the residents of Yahidne and other previously occupied communities, helping them overcome the trauma of war and occupation. ven more than two years after the village returned under the control of the Ukrainian government, the horrors of the occupation still haunt the locals.
"Visiting the village of Yahidne in the Chernihiv region was an impactful experience. The pain and trauma people endured here during the occupation are unimaginable. Our UNFPA-supported mobile Survivor Relief Centre is providing Yahidne’s residents with free psychosocial and legal support, helping them heal. But the journey is far from over. We must continue to stand with them, offer support, and help rebuild their lives and spirits, as well as those in other Ukrainian communities that were under occupation,” said Pavlo Zamostian, Assistant Representative at UNFPA Ukraine, during a visit to the village.
The UNFPA Ukraine team, together with Luc Jacobs, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to Ukraine, Carlos Pascual, Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of Spain in Ukraine, Martina Quick, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Sweden in Ukraine, Alex Redmond, Second Secretary at the Embassy of Ireland in Ukraine, and Elias Vonmetz, Attaché at the Embassy of Austria in Ukraine, visited Yahidne to witness this support firsthand and to speak with local residents about the challenges they face daily.
"It was a very emotional experience. Seeing firsthand the resilience of the people of Yahidne and the crucial work being done by UNFPA and its partners is both humbling and inspiring. Thank you for showing us the efforts on the ground, and for the conversations with specialists and the people who lived through this. It was truly eye-opening and a strong motivation to continue our support," says during the visit Luc Jacobs, Ambassador of Belgium to Ukraine.
Thanks to the mobile format of the Survivor Relief Centre, it has become possible to bring support to areas of Ukraine that are no longer under Russian occupation. Earlier this year, the network of Survivor Relief Centres received three vehicles, allowing specialists to assist war-affected Ukrainians in frontline regions who cannot reach stationary SRCs.
Two mobile Survivor Relief Centres, funded by the Spanish government, operate in the Kherson, Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy regions. Another, funded by the Belgian government, operates in the Kharkiv region. The mobile centres are fully equipped to provide consultations and support to those in need.
The network of Survivor Relief Centres was established to address the psychological and legal challenges faced by war survivors. The first stationary Survivor Relief Centre opened in Zaporizhzhia in July 2022. Today, these services are available in 12 cities: Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa, Poltava, Kropyvnytskyi, Chernivtsi, Sumy, and Mukachevo. The Centres offer assistance to people who have experienced captivity, survived occupation, been internally displaced, or are in need of support, including those affected by conflict-related sexual violence.
