ANASTASIA STROKACH
“You should try to go to the reconstruction site at least once. Then, just wake up in the morning, pack a backpack, and come back home and sign up for the next day,” Anastasia Strokach, Dobrobat volunteer.
“Anastasia is our tireless bee, and we are very proud of her. Since May, she has been visiting sites as part of the Kyiv branch and helping to restore the region. She has lost count of the number of times she has been there. She has joined dozens of times and has bold plans for the future.
Before russia’s full-scale invasion, Anastasia was a marketplace support employee and had never been involved in construction. She found out about Dobrobat by accident: she came across information on Telegram and became interested, as she was looking for different volunteer organizations to help the victims. She says that in the village near Kyiv, where her family had moved to stay safe and survive, she realized she could not just wait and do nothing. Inaction was depressing, and learning that we should fight with the whole country motivated her to do a good deed here and now.
At Dobrobat, Anastasia most often helps with rubble removal, cleaning up, and sometimes dismantling. She plans to join the Kharkiv battalion as soon as she has the opportunity to help with the urgent restoration of the de-occupied territories of the region.
Reconstruction is undoubtedly essential, but support for the victims is equally important and necessary. Anastasia says that she constantly tries to talk to the owners whose homes were destroyed. She recalls one of her first visits and is amazed at the strength of spirit, unbreakable spirit, and resilience of Ukrainians. At that time, we went to help pensioners who had lost everything because of the war but still returned home to the ruins and planted a garden because they felt no better than at home.
Anastasia is an example of a Ukrainian woman who picks up a shovel and cleans the country of evil to revive the land and its comfort. With such people, we will definitely win!