The war still continues, but in the meantime normal life in Ukraine continues. Natasha and Mirjam traveled to the affected country to spend a week renovating houses and organizing activities for people in a shelter.
The trip is organized by the Hope for Ukraine foundation. “A friend of mine has been on one of their trips before and pointed it out to me,” says Natasha Wiekmeijer from Eindhoven. It is her first time in Ukraine. That is different for Mirjam Wubs (31) from Cuijk, who was there several times before the war started.
The two women did not know each other prior to the trip. Mirjam: “In the Netherlands we have such luxury and we think that is normal. We want more and more. By rolling up our sleeves here, you are confronted with the facts. What we have is not normal at all. We are privileged,” she says.
“We are scraping wallpaper”
In Irpun, one of the Kiev suburbs, many houses have been damaged by bombs and rockets. “One group has shoveled a lot of rubble. We are now scraping wallpaper. We are also trying to clear a path in the garden to clear the rubble,” says Mirjam.
“Yesterday we made bead necklaces at the shelter with the women there. And we played volleyball.”
The Ukrainians are very grateful for the arrival of the group of Dutch people, they both say. “A 54-year-old woman lives alone in the house we are currently renovating. She told us that she was in a tiny air-raid shelter with ten others for nine days while houses were bombed. She is so happy with our help that she baked banana bread.” , said Natasha.