Veterans with disabilities

Veterans with disabilities

Oleksandr Popyk, a soldier from the Kyiv region and former biker, volunteered for the frontlines in 2014. In October 2022, he sustained a spinal cord injury during an assault, leaving him unable to walk. His recovery journey began with treatments in Poland and various rehabilitation centres in Kyiv, where he struggled to find the right support.

Through the “Unite and Help in Time of War” project, Oleksandr received a free consultation from the Active Rehabilitation Group. Together, they developed detailed plans to redesign his bathroom and discussed modifications for his entire apartment, realising that accessible housing was vital for his independence.

“The comfort of my home is essential,” he reflected. “Without this guidance, I would have struggled alone.” With the consultant’s recommendations, Oleksandr began renovations, excited to create a space where he could thrive. This initiative has already assisted over 52 individuals like him in finding solutions for accessible living in Ukraine.

Learning and Teaching

Learning and Teaching

As a core part of the work in Ukraine, learning, trainings and discovering best practices from both inside Ukraine and abroad are a core part of making disablity inclusion more effective. It is through increased knowledge that we can improve our response and the sustained response of others. The programme has conducted disability inclusive trainings on safety and security, humanitarian aid, healthcare, rehabilitation, accessible environments, using and fitting accessible devices, and human rights and policy advocacy among many other topics. We have created two online e-learning courses and trained hundreds of staff at hospitals, clinics, disability rights activists, rehabilitation experts, and  humanitarian aid workers. The work has also developed a sustained leanring space, The Riga Academy, organised by Latvian organisation, SUSTENTO, as a the training program, aimed at sharing experiences and developing skills of disability activists in Central and Eastern Europe, first of all from Ukraine.