UCRAINA (ENGLISH)

CENTER FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITY "DIM MYLOSERDIA" IN CHORTKIV

Project co-financed by 5x1000, own funds, and donations
Local Partner: Center for Children with Disabilities "Dim Myloserdia" ("House of Mercy")

The construction of the Center, initiated by the local Bishop and owned by the Diocese of Buchach, has been operational since 2016. Today, it accommodates around one hundred children with disability, predominantly intellectual, offering both residential care and outpatient treatment. The House of Mercy is currently the only facility in the region dedicated to addressing developmental disabilities, and it serves as an important reference point for a community plagued by alcoholism, domestic violence, and extreme poverty.

Context

Ukraine is undergoing a severe and prolonged political and economic crisis due to the ongoing armed conflict. The Ternopil Region in southwestern Ukraine is indirectly affected by the clashes and suffers the consequences: many men leave for the front, abandoning their families, and sometimes return home severely injured or disabled.

Need

In the Chortkiv area, there is a high incidence of congenital disorders, partly due to the Chernobyl disaster (about 500 km away) and possibly because of the widespread fetal alcohol syndrome: 334 children under 18 with disability are known in the city (40% of whom have malformities) out of a total of 12 000 minors. Given the socio-economic and health context, this is likely an underestimate. Chortkiv has only 10 pediatricians, the only pediatric rehabilitation specialist in the region is in Ternopil, with a few others in Lviv and Kyiv, hundreds of kilometers away.

The children at the House of Mercy suffer from conditions such as rickets, autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, developmental delays, and mental disability.
Additionally, the conflict has impacted the movements of the population. Since the early stages of the war, the House of Mercy has been dedicated to welcoming internal refugees. Currently, it provides shelter for children, mothers, and vulnerable elderly people. This approach allows the resumption of rehabilitation activities for children with disabilities as much as possible.

Areas of Intervention

In 2018, Don Gnocchi Foundation has launched a collaboration project with the House of Mercy, aimed at comprehensive support for the center, primarily to improve the healthcare and rehabilitation services and professional training of the staff, and simultaneously to enhance its organizational and administrative management.
Since February 2022, emergency aid has been added – sending essential goods, medicines, and medical supplies – in response to the new needs created by the conflict.

Recipients

The project beneficiary is the "Dim Myloserdia" Center in Chortkiv as a whole, particularly its entire staff and patients. Indirect beneficiaries include the families of those assisted, the surrounding community, and the directly involved local institutions.