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Жовтень – October

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This month is named after the colour yellow - жовтий, the colour of the leaves. In the autumnal sun, the colours are beautiful and Kharkivians delight in this time of year, before the cold and uncertainty of winter descends. As always, the beauty of Kharkiv, and the joy of living and working here, is juxtaposed with the sounds of sirens and bombs, and the sadness of death and destruction. Kyiv continues to experience the most consistent attacks, but in Kharkiv and Kharkiv region there is a steady increase in drone, glide bomb and missile attacks, particularly during the day. The sound of explosions when we're out and about is not uncommon. Often, these are attacks on infrastructure and services, e.g. electricity substations and petrol stations. At other times there seems to be no explanation - people killed in a sewing shop, for example. On 19 October, at about 4:30 pm, a Russian drone struck a park in Nova Vodolaz, north-eastern Kharkiv region, killing six people, including two ch...
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I return to Kharkiv and children return to school

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Shortly before I returned to Ukraine I was sitting in my mum's garden, from where we could hear the sound of children laughing and shouting in the playground on their first day of school. It's a lovely sound that, sadly, is not heard in Kharkiv or in any other city near the frontline. In Ukraine, the new school year traditionally begins on 1 September. After Russia's invasion in 2022, schools in Kharkiv and Kharkiv region switched to online learning. In 2023, local authorities set up underground schools in Metro (underground) stations and began building schools underground. Now, there are 10 underground schools in Kharkiv. They are much in demand and, generally, reserved for younger children for just a couple of days a week. Air raid alerts are, of course, part of life for everyone now and out on the street it doesn't appear that children even notice them. But in a local article on returning to school underground, a first-grade pupil, Sofia, said: “I’m not a...
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Leaving on Kharkiv Day

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  23 August is Kharkiv Day, commemorating the city's liberation (after several previous tries) in 1943 by the Soviet Red Army in World War II. Beginning in 2004, 23 August is also National Flag Day of Ukraine. The following day, 24 August, is Independence Day, dating from 1991 when parliament adopted the Act of Declaration of Independence, freeing Ukraine from the Soviet Union. I am travelling from Kharkiv to England, to visit my Mum, and other family and friends. I'll be away for a little over 2 weeks, which is not long but it always feels difficult to leave Kharkiv. At least I know that I won't be missed too much in terms of staffing the kitchen, as we have lots of foreign volunteers just now, both new and returning, including quite a large contingent of British volunteers! 3:1 Brits to Americans in these photos! A number of volunteers choose to increase their volunteering opportunities, e.g. after peeling vegetables in the morning they...
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