Lots of damaged houses, broken windows, signs warning about the mine danger around them, and exhausted but extremely friendly elderly people. This is how we are greeted in the south of Ukraine.
The villages of Snihurivka and Novovasylivka in Mykolaiv region have been under Russian military control for about nine months. The shelling and the whistling of rockets rarely cease here. And after the dam explosion at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, the consequences of flooding have complicated an already difficult situation.
Snihurivka
"We are patient, and with God's help we will survive everything," says Liudmyla, 70. Almost all the young people left the village in the spring of 2022. Most of them never returned.
"We left too," says Halyna, 62. "We traveled all over the South. We were in Mykolaiv and Odesa. We stayed with friends and in shelters, but as soon as we learned that Snihurivka was again under the control of the Ukrainian government, I decided to return. Because this is my home and my whole life. I am protecting what is left."
Almost a quarter of Ukraine's population is of retirement age. In the areas newly under control of the Ukrainian government, this percentage is over 90.
With the financial support of Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC, UK), CARE is helping these people to restore their damaged apartments. The process of replacing the broken windows has already begun, and for everyone who stays here, it is invaluable.
"We spent all our savings while the Russian military controlled everything here. Shops, pharmacies, hospitals, nothing worked, and we had to pay very expensive prices to get at least some food. At that time, everyone who stayed here cooked and ate together. That's what helped us survive those grueling months," recalls Raisa, 72.
"It's a little easier now. Humanitarian organizations bring us bread, water and inform us when some hygiene products or long-term storage products are brought to the city: cereals, canned food, oil. The only thing we lack is peace and quietness, so that we can rebuild everything and return to a normal life," says Antonina, 66.
Landmines are also a big challenge for everyone. Some agricultural land is overgrown with weeds because these areas have not yet been cleared of mines. It's the same with forests. "Our own vegetables, wild mushrooms and berries helped us survive. But now, unfortunately, this is not available. Recently, a man from a neighboring house went to the forest to pick mushrooms and hit a mine. The authorities warn of the danger, but sometimes out of desperation, and sometimes because of their own habits, people ignore these warnings."
Another part of the agricultural land suffered from flooding.
Novovasylivka
In the street in which Alla, 60, lives, in Novovasylivka, in mid-June the water was higher than the top of the windows. "The library is damaged, the garden is ruined, all the furniture and appliances are destroyed. We have nothing left," she says.
Temporarily, she is being taken in by neighbors from the street on the hill, who were lucky enough not to have water reach their homes. Sixty-four houses in this village were damaged. Now the walls are collapsing, there is no electricity, and there is a lot of mud. The walls and all the beds were flooded. There is still water in the basement. The well is silted up.
"I live with my mother, 87 years old, and my husband. We are all pensioners, and I don't know if we can restore all this on our own. Unfortunately, we have no other place to live."
In this region, people lived on vegetables harvested from their own gardens. The water took away all this year's crops. Moreover, the orchard and vineyard have been damaged and will take years to rebuild.
The water has come and gone, and its destructive effects will be felt in this region for a long time.
