The name of the initiative: "Strengthening the capacity of the social laundry" on the basis of the regional communal social center
More than a hundred kilograms of clothes are washed every day by volunteers of the social laundry in one of the largest shelters for IDPs in Chernivtsi - the regional center of social and psychological assistance. To purchase equipment for washing and drying clothes, the activists received a SCLR micro-grant from the AREAC public landscaping program.
In 2022, during the first three months of the war, more than 3,500 forced migrants passed through this one of the largest shelters in the region. Then, for their accommodation, the buildings of the abandoned tuberculosis sanatorium, which had been empty for several years, were given. Residents recall that there were just bare walls, people slept on the floor in the corridors, assembly and sports hall... Volunteers throughout the region collected blankets, canned goods, clothes - everything they could. At the same time, one of the benefactors donated 2 washing machines to the center. They worked around the clock, and they started the social laundry.
- The equipment did not hold up, because these are ordinary household machines, they should work 2-3 times a week, and not continuously. Our last dryer broke half a year before we received the micro-grant, - says Anastasia Naumenko, the initiator of the project and the head of the public organization "Help and Hope". She has been in this shelter since the first weeks of the full-scale war, and along with other displaced people from war-torn areas, she used every opportunity to create at least some amenities here.
Thanks to the project, the laundry room was equipped with two powerful washing machines and two dryers. On weekdays, they are always on, shelter residents volunteer in turn. Olena from Dobropill in Donetsk region works as a teacher, so she tries to take shifts on weekends. The woman shows lists of residents who brought clothes for washing today:
- People leave their room and when the clothes are already washed, I call them to come and hang them to dry. Those who have the opportunity are asked to bring cleaning products, but most of the residents of our center are people with many children, people with disabilities, and elderly people who do not have money for it. And there are very few humanitarian projects in Chernivtsi now, there is nowhere to get help, so we are glad that we were able to buy the powder with the funds of the micro-grant.
Also, as part of the initiative, two sewing machines were purchased, specially for their installation cosmetic repairs were made in a small room next to the laundry room. Women volunteer in this mini-workshop for small linen repairs, because there is often a need to sew and patch something. For the most vulnerable residents of the shelter, new bed linen is sewn by their own efforts. Bedridden pensioner Victor Benya was the first to receive such a gift. Two years ago, when he was fleeing from shelling in Kramatorsk, the man had a stroke due to constant stress. Now the volunteers of the social center support his moral and physical condition as best they can.
As its own contribution, the initiative group of the project installed high-speed Internet in the laundry and installed equipment for its operation, bought a new boiler, replaced the wiring and installed new sockets, and connected a generator for uninterrupted operation of the laundry.
Currently, about 250 people, mostly from war-torn regions, live permanently in this center. Everyone can use the public laundry service free of charge.
In the second round of the SCLR program, the NGO "Help and Hope" received a micro-grant for the creation of a sewing school-atelier in this shelter. They plan not only to serve IDPs, but also to teach them a new business.
The SCLR program for supporting community initiatives in Bukovyna is implemented by the public organization AREAC - Chernivtsi Regional Association for Social Development with the administrative support of Fundatia Heks/Eper Romania and the financial support of Swiss Solidarity and Act Alliance.