Four regions, 18 site visits, and 175 volunteers involved: Dobrobat reports on a week of reconstruction

Dobrobat’s enthusiastic volunteers, united in a common cause, are changing the country for the better almost daily. Teams of volunteers have joined the ranks of the construction army and hold the reconstruction frontline, repairing the homes of affected Ukrainians. Helping each other makes us more strong and powerful.

Last week, about 175 volunteers joined the urgent restoration work at sites in four regions of the country. In Kyiv oblast, volunteers traveled to Irpin, Demydiv, and Hostomel. In particular, they repaired the roof of a house in Irpin where a retired couple lives. The house was damaged a year ago by an enemy shell that hit the top directly, shattering it. The volunteers rebuilt the roof entirely. They also helped an elderly lady from Hostomel. The roof, windows, and part of the wall of her house were destroyed by an enemy blast wave. The volunteers repaired the roof frame and replaced the slate roofing with a new ondulin. They also fixed part of the ruined wall of the house.

Almost every day, the volunteers repair the roof of a house in Demydiv, whose urgent restoration began last week. The retired couple’s house’s ceiling, walls, windows, and doors were shattered by enemy bombardment at the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion. The team of Kyiv team is currently restoring the roof.

Volunteers from the Sumy and Romny branches continued to repair the damage in a multi-story building in Trostyanets. The house, home to about 60 families, was damaged by shelling by russian troops during the city’s occupation. It was the fifth time Dobrobat volunteers from Sumy visited the site and dismantled the dangerous wall structures with rescuers from the State Emergency Service. In addition, they cleared and loaded 45 tonnes of construction waste for removal. After that, the volunteers from Romny cleared the second floor of rubble and cleaned three apartments on the third floor. They also repaired the ceiling in the house of a large family from Romny. Earlier, the volunteers had already cleared the apartment of construction debris and started to arrange the upper interior covering. Now the volunteers have restored the ceiling beams, installed a vapor barrier, and mounted a wooden ceiling with insulation.

Volunteers from the Mykolaiv construction branch have been helping residents of the region whose homes were destroyed by russian shelling. In Prybuzke, the roof of the summer kitchen of local residents was urgently repaired. Two “strikes” during enemy shelling with Grad destroyed the family’s house. Only the summer kitchen partially survived, and the volunteers began to restore it. In particular, they dismantled the damaged roof, repaired the broken beams and lintels, and covered the top with a new slate, mounting the ridge. They also cleared the area of construction waste. The volunteer team also helped a family from Pervomaiske. The woman’s apartment, where she lived with her daughter and four grandchildren, was burnt out due to an enemy shell hit. The volunteers rebuilt two destroyed walls in the apartment and covered three broken windows and two smashed doors with OSB boards.

They also started restoring a school in Mykolaiv. The windows and doors of the school were blown off due to enemy shelling with S-300 missiles. Volunteers of the Mykolaiv construction battalion started installing new windows in the building. They also helped the affected residents of Ochakiv. The roof of the house where the elderly live was urgently repaired after it was damaged by a blast wave in January. New beams and crates were installed, the damaged roof was dismantled, a new slate was laid, and a roof ridge was installed. In addition, the volunteers responded to a request from a local resident to repair the damaged roof of her house by replacing the broken slate.