With support from a Peremoha Mini-Grant, RPCV Abby Nutsubidze (2010-2014) and Lydia helped provide over 700 pounds of canned stewed beef to families displaced by war. Their efforts are sustaining children, elders, and people with disabilities at the Hope Children’s Center in Lubny, offering warmth, nourishment, and care during the long winter months.
RPCV: Abigail Nutsubidze; Teaching English as a Foreign Language & PEPFAR Response 2010-2014
Ukrainian Partner: Lydia Mikolaivna Belova, Children’s Center Director
Region: Poltava Oblast
RPCV Abby Nutsubidze (2010–2014) partnered with Lydia to provide more than 730 pounds of canned stewed beef to support the Hope Children’s Center in Lubny, Ukraine. As of October 1, 2024, twelve families—29 people in total, including children with special needs, elders, and individuals with disabilities—were taking shelter at the center after evacuating from combat zones and occupied territories.
The people arriving at the Hope Children’s Center were often experiencing significant psychosocial stress related to the war and many needed help replacing essential identification documents. Residents receive comfortable living arrangements, three hot meals a day, and access to hygiene products, clothing, laundry facilities, Wi-Fi, and childcare. They are also supported through counseling on social, legal, and medical matters, as well as assistance preparing documents for schools, social services, and banks. Onsite educators work closely with the children, providing tutoring, special needs support, and parent education.
Expanding Support for the Community
In addition to housing displaced families, the center has also launched a daycare program for children in need from the surrounding community. Participants receive hot, nutritious meals, engage in educational and creative activities, and have access to clean clothing and bathing facilities when needed.
Each month, approximately 200 people turn to the Hope Children’s Center for humanitarian aid. Support is provided primarily through clothing, shoes, toys, books, bread, ready-made meals, drinking water, and laundry services. In urgent cases, food and hygiene products are delivered directly to those with limited mobility. The center also serves as a place of rest and a source of hot meals for humanitarian volunteers passing through (up to 25 people per month).
Sustaining Hope Through the Winter
The 625 cans of stewed beef purchased with Peremoha Mini-Grant funds play a vital role in supporting food security and nutrition for displaced families and community members. This emergency assistance helps sustain people through the long, cold winter months and represents a tangible act of care amid the hardships of war.
The Peremoha Mini-Grants program, launched in 2022, empowers grant recipients and their Ukrainian partners to lead impactful projects supporting humanitarian aid, community development, education, and youth initiatives. These grants are made possible through charitable contributions and proceeds from the Babusya’s Kitchen cookbook.
You can help make a difference! Donate to the Peremoha fund, purchase a cookbook, or apply for your own grant to support Ukraine.