The Community Self-Help NGO organizes the delivery of medicines, medical supplies, and other humanitarian resources to where they are most needed. We respond to urgent requests from partners and donors, support local humanitarian initiatives as a tool for strengthening the organization's strategic programs, and strictly adhere to international humanitarian principles — humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.

Since March 2022, during an acute shortage of medicines for hospitals that save the lives of civilians, we have organized purchases in Ukraine and abroad and deliveries to hospitals in the Lviv, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kyiv regions (in particular, Bucha and Borodianka).

As of 2026, most hospitals are supplied with medicines, but emergency situations continue when certain medicines are not available on the market. We implement rapid humanitarian response to quickly support medical facilities and rehabilitation centers for veterans and people with disabilities, providing them with the necessary equipment—wheelchairs, crutches, blood pressure monitors, and other assistive devices.

We cooperate with international partners, including:

• Japan Agency for Development and Emergency

• Andriy Barchyshyn and Hospice of Hope (UK)

• Bjarne Mikkelsen, founder of the non-governmental organization Hudson Valley Helps Refugees, Inc. (USA)

• Highland Rotary Club (USA)

• Japan Platform

• Alight

• Bysol

• Silc (Sweden)

• Foundation Air Liquide (France)

Key initiatives (2022–2025):

• Humanitarian support for local communities, hospitals, veterans, children, and people with disabilities (project with Andriy Barchyshyn and Hospice of Hope).

• Support for women (pregnant and breastfeeding) and IDP children.

• The Christmas Book project — support for IDP children and defenders in the Lviv, Kharkiv, and Mykolaiv regions.

• Support for Lviv volunteers working with IDPs from all over Ukraine.

• Printing and distribution of informational materials: brochures “Women under Occupation” and “What to Do If Someone in Your Family Goes Missing.”

• Provision of assistive devices (wheelchairs, crutches, blood pressure monitors) for residents of the Lviv Center for Disability and Rehabilitation.

We continue to respond quickly to humanitarian needs and develop systematic support for communities, veterans, and people with disabilities in cooperation with national and international partners.

The NGO Community Self-Help provides psychosocial support to children, veterans, and internally displaced persons, strengthens local MHPSS services, and trains specialists in the tools needed to work with people affected by war.

Main areas of activity and projects (2022–2025):

1. Supporting Child Mental Health in De-Occupied Territories of Ukraine

Together with the Boston Children's Hospital Margaret C. Ryan Global Health Program (USA), we are creating a system of access to psychosocial support for children in frontline and de-occupied territories. The goal is to reduce the negative impact of war and promote children's emotional and social recovery.

2. The project “You are not alone. Support is nearby”

We are creating a space for mutual support, training, and emotional recovery for professionals who work with veterans, military personnel, and war victims. Implemented with the support of NGO Friends of Chervonohrad (USA).

3. Innovative tools for psychologists

• Vitality|Psychologist's Package project — a mobile application for psychologists working with war victims (published on the UN website here).

• Update of the PFA Mobile Ukraine mobile application for first psychological aid.

• Printing of the methodological guide “The Power of Breathing: Psychological Recovery Skills.”

4. Partnership initiatives and hotlines

• IDPs mothers and children - Support for women (pregnant and breastfeeding) and children of internally displaced persons.

• UNDP project “Hotline for psychological support to families” whose members have been affected by the war (missing, captured, tortured or sexually abused).

• Training for school psychologists in collaboration with the UN: the use of cognitive-process therapy in working with children and adolescents.

The Community Self-Help NGO supports communities in recovery and adaptation after crises, teaching self-reliance, digital tools, and effective management. We strengthen the managerial and organizational capacity of community initiatives, help communities become visible through storytelling and advocacy campaigns, and ensure the sustainable development of their projects.

Main areas and projects (2022–2025)

1. Support for veterans and people with disabilities

• “I did, so can you” — a social project for veterans who need to adapt after being wounded: video tips, e-guides, and podcasts for achieving everyday independence after disability.

• Support for Kherson rescuers from the State Emergency Service through the Canadian Trident project — funding for equipment for the RER and REB services.

2. Advocacy and creation of social tools

• “Veteran Journey Map” — a tool for creating a unified medical and psychosocial space for defenders of Ukraine.

3. Storytelling and oral histories

• Fundacja Dobra Wola (Krakow, Poland) project — “Public Oral History Archive” for recording the stories of volunteers, veterans, and IDPs.

• “My Story — My Power” — an educational project for veterans (in Bakhmut, Berdiansk, and Dnipro) and IDPs, with further online continuation; training is conducted by Olga Onyshko (Washington), an expert in cinema and storytelling.

4. Training and community development

• Support for schools, community organizations, and local initiatives in the use of digital tools for development and communication.

• Use of storytelling as a tool for visibility, advocacy, and sustainability of organizations.

• Conducting training sessions and workshops for volunteers and community activists.

Impact and results

• Improved management and organizational capacity of dozens of community initiatives.

• Created information resources to support veterans and people with disabilities.

• Dozens of oral histories documented and preserved as part of Ukraine's cultural memory.

• A system of psychosocial support and advocacy tools for local communities and veterans established.