“Sumy Region Is My Home.” Why Families Stay and How We Help Them Prepare for Winter

Some stay because of their family roots; others no longer have the strength to move again. We visited families in the Sumy region of northern Ukraine, where we helped replace windows damaged in attacks ahead of winter.

Wind blew into homes through broken windows, and hastily secured plastic sheeting could not replace the glass. After Russian attacks, families tried to protect themselves from the wind and rain with whatever they had at hand. Many had no money left for repairs.

At People in Peril, we therefore replaced 85 windows in 19 households in the Bochechky community near Konotop. We also installed new windowsills and insect screens and finished the areas around the windows so that residents would not have to arrange further work themselves. This helped 42 people, 32 of whom had been forced to leave their original homes because of the war.

Our field officer Yuliia Tsyba and field officer and photographer Peter Vološčuk visited the households in the Sumy region, approximately 50 kilometres from the front line. They came to check the repairs and talk to residents about their lives.

Our colleagues also visited Antonina Hodunova. Her house immediately catches the eye. Blue wooden cladding is complemented by decorative green and white window frames with geometric patterns. Shutters and carved window surrounds are characteristic features of the local folk architecture. For Antonina, however, the house is especially precious because of its family history. Her great-grandparents built it around a hundred years ago.

“Look at these beautiful windows, how lovely they are,” she says, pointing out the insect screens too. She is pleased that everything is finished and she no longer has to paint or complete any of the work herself.

From the new windows, the conversations gradually turn to leaving home, returning, and the reasons people stay despite the danger.

Antonina: The House Her Great-Grandparents Built

Antonina spent most of her life in Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region, where she taught chemistry and biology. When she was forced to leave the city in 2022, she first went to Kyiv. After Russian troops withdrew from her home region, she found refuge in her parents’ house in the Sumy region. Her mother was still living there at the time. After her mother’s death, Antonina was left living alone.

Even after being displaced, she continued teaching remotely. Eventually, however, the school closed, leaving her with only her pension. “Without this help, I certainly couldn’t have afforded to replace the windows. I simply couldn’t have managed it on my pension,” she explains.

Despite the air raid alerts and drones overhead, she does not want to leave again. She feels most at peace in her parents’ house. For her, the support also means knowing she does not have to face her worries alone.

“This is an enormous help to me. It has also helped me emotionally. It means so much that people care about us and treat us with such kindness,” says Antonina. “Sadly, people in Ukraine need help. Thank you.”

Hanna: “Where Would I Go at My Age?”

A Russian drone exploded near 74-year-old Hanna Kadura’s home. The blast shattered the windows, damaged the walls and tore the doors from their frames.

Hanna lives alone, and her only income is a pension of 4,000 hryvnias (approximately €80) a month. Paying for repairs would have been very difficult for her. The replacement windows will help keep her home warmer as winter approaches.

Despite the air raid alerts, she wants to stay at home. At her age, she can no longer imagine starting over.

“No, I haven’t considered moving. Where would I go at my age?” she asks.

Iryna: This Is My Home

Iryna Mudrychenko fled Hlukhiv in the Sumy region with her seven children and her mother because of the constant threat of shelling. After they stayed temporarily in the village of Vyrivka, the Bochechky community provided them with a house. Iryna’s sister later joined them with her three children. Thirteen people now live under one roof, including ten children.

For such a large household, replacing the damaged windows brought significant financial relief and helped them prepare for winter. “I doubt I could have afforded so many windows of such good quality on my own,” says Iryna.

Air raid alerts and fears of further attacks, however, remain part of the family’s life. Even after experiencing displacement, Iryna has no plans to move to another region.

“I can’t even imagine leaving. The Sumy region is my home.”

Natalia: “How Many More Times Do We Have to Move?”

Natalia Panchenko, her husband and their daughter left Khutir-Mykhailivskyi in the Sumy region in 2022. Relatives provided them with a house that had stood empty for a long time and needed repairs. Shortly after they moved in, Natalia’s husband suffered a stroke.

They gradually repaired the house as their finances and health allowed. The news that we would help replace their windows encouraged them to make further improvements. “We immediately said to ourselves that once we had new windows, we would gradually start putting everything else in order. And that’s exactly what happened,” Natalia says.

They have built a new stove and are planning further repairs. They tend their garden and have stocked up on vegetables for winter. Little by little, they are turning the place where they sought refuge into a home.

Explosions can still be heard nearby, and drones fly over the village. But they do not want to move again.

“We are so tired. How many more times do we have to move? We’re too old for it now. It was very hard for us to move here. But we believe everything will be all right.”

Why We Repair Homes Even During the War

Leaving means finding somewhere new to live and rebuilding your life. For older people, families with children and people with health conditions, this can be especially difficult. Ukraine also lacks the capacity to ensure that everyone living in a damaged home can relocate and live in dignity elsewhere over the long term.

When repairing homes, we take the current security situation into account. We do not carry out repairs in the immediate vicinity of the front line, where humanitarian coordination guidelines advise against reconstruction and government-led evacuations are taking place. We help where conditions allow repairs to go ahead.

The risk of another attack cannot be ruled out. But people need decent living conditions now and, above all, need to prepare for winter. Repairs protect homes from further damage and help households retain heat.

Sometimes, more than window replacement is needed. This was the case for Halyna in the village of Bondari. We also insulated her house and renovated its façade so that she could use less fuel during the winter.

Help Families Stay Warm This Winter

Heat escapes through broken windows, even when the stove is lit. Replacing them helps families prepare for winter. Yet many households still lack enough fuel, while schools, kindergartens and healthcare facilities need reliable backup power.

With your support, we can provide firewood for more households and portable power stations or generators for local facilities so they can keep operating during power outages. You can help by donating any amount.

For the people our colleagues visited, this support means something more: someone cares about their lives, listens to them and helps them feel they are not alone in these difficult circumstances. Looking at her new windows, Antonina puts it simply:

“When I come in here and look at those windows, my heart feels a little lighter.”

Thank you for helping.

Photos: Peter Vološčuk, People in Peril