Geriatric homes in wartime: navigating corruption shadows and self-sacrifice radiance

Geriatric facilities have long been associated with sorrow and corruption since Soviet times. The former, because aging is not a joyous experience, and the latter, essentially for the same reason – violating the rights and exploiting the elderly, often lonely individuals, is not challenging with the right inclination. However, over the past two years of war, there have been numerous examples of geriatric care workers bringing products, items, and medicines, and even sacrificing themselves to help the elderly.

In collaboration with the Let's Help Foundation (established by the Bondarenko family, founders of the LIGA Group of Companies), which has been assisting geriatric nursing homes and supporting the elderly since 2015, we will share the experiences of two such institutions during the onset of full-scale war. One of them endured six months under occupation. We will also introduce the Anti-Corruption Hotline, an initiative aimed not only at safeguarding residents of nursing homes from injustice but also at assisting upright institution staff, who are the majority.

Many nursing homes and centers found themselves under occupation. According to human rights activists, the Russian administration left them to their own devices. The fate of the residents often entirely depended on the staff of these institutions.

Occupied nursing home: ingenuity and COVID-19 shielded from occupant visits

Maryna Stohniy is the director of the Territorial Center for Social Services of the Novooleksandrivska village council (Kherson Oblast). Just two to three days after the full-scale invasion, the community fell under occupation.

At the beginning of the invasion, the center housed 18 people (the center is designed for a total of 28 individuals), including several diagnosed with "schizophrenia of varying complexity." Additionally, numerous refugees fleeing occupation and war passed through the center. During the occupation, up to 90 people sought temporary shelter there.

Residents of Novooleksandrivka also fled, leaving only 2,000 people in the ten-thousand-strong community. The village head and council head were forced to leave, and only Maryna and her colleague, the head of the local Family and Youth Affairs service, remained among the officials. During the occupation, Maryna, along with others, wore an embroidered shirt, went to the Dnipro River's bank every day to connect with the village head by phone and update on community matters.

The occupiers repeatedly intimidated Maryna and her colleagues, claiming that the local villages were being shelled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. They showed no interest in the nursing home or its residents. Later, on May 9, they showed up as a delegation with cameras and "humanitarian aid. They wanted to put on a propaganda "show". However, Maryna did not allow them to enter the facility, claiming that there was an outbreak of COVID-19.

She traveled to Kherson for medicines and supplies, covering 180 kilometers of occupied territory and passing through 38 enemy checkpoints. With the support of volunteers, Maryna even managed to find medication for an HIV-positive refugee who arrived at the center with her son.

During the occupation, no budget funds were received, and the center survived with the support of volunteers and the community. Maryna personally planted three additional gardens to feed her charges. The staff also brought their vegetables and fruits, while fellow villagers baked bread for the center and shared gasoline for the generator. The center provided four meals a day. When humanitarian aid was received, Maryna asked for small candies to distribute to children and the elderly.

According to her, the center's residents endured the occupation united, supporting each other, engaging in conversation, singing, and reading books from their own library. "We lived with them like one family. They waited for our guys, asking, 'Marynka, when will they release us?' — the woman shares her memories. "I was waiting for my son to release me. I waited for eight months, and it happened."

In October 2022, the community was liberated from occupation. Maryna evacuated her charges to Kryvyi Rih, but the staff remained, transitioning to other social work. Currently, the Novooleksandrivska community is shelled from the occupied left bank of the Dnipro River.

"There is no electricity, no water, the infrastructure is destroyed. There is no house left that is not damaged. But we continue to work. To bring humanitarian aid, you need to work a lot, find benefactors or funds, and correctly document and provide photo reports. It's a very big job that we do manually because there is no light."

Obukhiv nursing home: a narrow escape from a food shortage due to the panic of the suppliers

Zoya Korolenko, the director of the Territorial Center for Social Services of the Obukhiv City Council (Kyiv Oblast), oversees three main areas of operation: a stationary care unit with rooms for residents, home care services, and a university for senior citizens. Currently, 22 individuals reside in the center, while an additional 200 receive assistance at home.

In the early days of March 2022, the center welcomed two internally displaced persons: an 88-year-old man from Donetsk without legs and a disabled woman from Irpin, cared for by her sister.

Zoya shares, "Her relatives and caregivers are currently abroad, and we are taking care of her. According to the agreement, she will stay with us until the end of the state of war. Initially, she was very afraid of strangers, not letting anyone close. However, we found an approach, and now she even smiles."

The full-scale invasion significantly impacted the center's operations in the initial weeks. By the end of February 2022, the center's several months' supply of provisions had almost depleted, and the planned delivery of new supplies was scheduled for February 24.

"In the afternoon, I learned that the supplier refused to deliver the products. He was in shock and panic. I started calling everywhere, and a local Obukhiv producer, based on my honest word, without money, without a contract, without documents, brought meat products and eggs for three months. Of course, we later formalized a contract and paid for everything."

However, the need for staples such as grain and flour remained. A local entrepreneur with a grocery store responded, and during the initial invasion days when warehouses released limited quantities, the entrepreneur delivered products to the center every other day, as Zoya describes, "drop by drop."

Personnel issues also arose, with many staff members becoming refugees and requesting leave at their own expense. However, replacing them with new hires wasn't feasible, leaving the residents without proper supervision. Eventually, some individuals resigned either voluntarily or at Zoya's insistence, enabling the hiring of new employees. "When the dismissed employees returned, they began hinting through their former wards that I should take them back to work. But I won't because I don't know what tomorrow holds, and whether I can rely on them. Without staff, I am nothing; I need reliable people."

How Let's Help Charity Foundation supports nursing homes during full-scale war

Since the early weeks of the war, the Let's Help Foundation has been organizing the evacuation of geriatric nursing homes to safer and calmer areas of Ukraine. They provided long-lasting food products and drinking water to nursing homes in populated areas where stores had stopped operating, or suppliers had refused to deliver goods due to the country's situation.

In the summer of 2022, Let's Help initiated the "Wrap in Warmth" project to prepare geriatric nursing homes for the winter. They managed to purchase over 22 generators, a solid fuel boiler, and thousands of sets of warm clothing for the nursing homes. In the fall of 2023, the foundation began replacing old bedding in geriatric institutions. They also took care of lonely pensioners without children or grandchildren who are not displaced persons, providing them with tens of thousands of food sets. Alongside all these efforts, Let's Help, as before February 24, continues to procure and deliver medical equipment to nursing homes: medical beds, wheelchairs, walkers, toilet chairs, crutches, and much more.

The deep involvement in processes and a broad context (currently, the foundation oversees 122 institutions) allows Let's Help employees to see the panorama of what is happening. This revealed the problem of corruption and embezzlement. During the war, corruption became not only more acute but also more critical in its consequences. That's why the idea of an Anti-Corruption Hotline for geriatric institutions emerged, launched on Saint Nicholas Day, December 6.

"When we brought generators for which people had raised charitable funds, and some managers connect them at triple the market price, it's corruption. It's not justice. This should not happen," explains Olga Bondarenko, the chairwoman of the Let's Help Foundation's board.

Launching the Anti-Corruption Hotline for geriatric institutions

Olga Bondarenko, the chairwoman of the Let's Help Foundation, announces the establishment of an Anti-Corruption Hotline, anticipating it to be a shock and unwelcome news for the leadership of institutions accustomed to embezzlement. The project aims to involve all 122 nursing homes currently under the foundation's care. Informational stands with the hotline number and a brief explanation of its principles and goals will be placed in these institutions. Olga hopes that the initiative will be embraced by the government and assist in expanding the project nationwide.

The Anti-Corruption Hotline number for geriatric institutions is 0 800 33 94 24, operational 24/7. Calls are anonymous, and disclosing one's name is optional. However, callers must provide their location and the name of the nursing home for a thorough investigation. The hotline staff processes the inquiries and forwards the information to law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies for investigation.

The foundation expects calls to the hotline not only from the residents of nursing homes and their relatives but also from the institutions' staff.

The reaction of some nursing home administrators reveals how the initiative has "hit a nerve." They are initially hesitant to display stands with the hotline number in their institutions. Nevertheless, the project continues to expand, attracting new institutions.

"During the war, it's challenging to make long-term plans, but we hope that the hotline will operate until we eradicate corruption in the field permanently. Even then, we would like people to remember that all actions have consequences," concludes Olga Bondarenko.