Welcome to issue 90 of the Call to Comms.
It has been three years since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine. Heavy shelling and fighting have forced millions of people to move, with nearly 4 million being internally displaced people (IDP). Away from their families, their home, their school, many live in shelters where they need to stay in contact with their loved ones, access information, continue education, and so much more.
Listen to one of TSF's Regional Managers, currently in Ukraine, as he explains how TSF is consolidating its action in the country:
TSF connects shelters across Ukraine so IDPs can access free, stable Wi-Fi. We met three women living in some of these shelters: Olga, Natalia and Yana, and discussed their experience as the war enters its third year. Discover their stories below.
Meet the people living in a Ukrainian shelter
Olga; Helping Her Child Learn With the Internet
“When we came here, we immediately switched to online studies, because there were hostilities.”
What is your name? Where are you from? Do you have children?
My name is Olga. I am from the Kharkiv region. I came here with my child. He is now 11 years old. We came when he was 8 years old.
Did he start studying at school when you came? Did he continue his online studies?
When we came here, we immediately switched to online studies, because there were hostilities. Now the study is offline. He goes to school. He is very interested and likes it. Over the past three years, he has made a lot of friends.
Does he use the Internet for studying when he comes home from school?
Yes, we use it, as long as we study here, because there is a lot of information there. How to do it, how to explain it. I am not a teacher, so I needed a lot of information to explain it to him correctly.
We look for online lessons. When he was younger, third or fourth grade, we both watched it with him [because he struggled understanding Ukrainian language, and it was difficult to get everything just from the school lesson]. Now he is in the fifth grade, I see that he can handle it himself. He opens the Internet, finds the topic, watches how it is explained, how it is done, and then continues to work on his own. Just watching the information, everything that a child needs to learn, it suits us.
Inès Guittonneau
Natalia; Online Exercises and Recovery
“Without these exercises that go on TV, it would be unrealistic that this child would be recovering already.”
What is your name, where are you from, and when did you come here?
My name is Natalia, I am from Donetsk region. I came here in 2022.
How did you start doing what you are doing now, with the help of rehabilitation?
In 2023, I was looking for a foundation that would be able to buy [a gym] for rehabilitation, for the pensioners. Because it is the most unprotected layer of the population. In many cases, the back, shoulders of the elderly, it all hurts. It needs to be restored a little. And we do it, a little.
Do you have Wi-Fi here?
The TV is connected. The charity foundation also brought it. I connected it via Wi-Fi, and a lot of classes go through the TV. It helps a lot, because when you are 70+, it is very difficult to explain in words. People need to see someone demonstrate the exercise. I think this is very important.
Do you see any results in the people who do it?
Yes, of course. There is a boy, he is 14 years old. At the beginning of the summer, he broke his ankle. A very difficult fracture, very. He still has two bolts. For three and a half months he had plaster, and when it was removed, he walked on crutches. He came to me with them.
Then, after a few exercises, he began to walk with one crutch. Then the goal was to lose a little weight. Because he was not very active, he was clearly afraid of hurting his leg. He was 80 kgs. We lost 4 kgs in two weeks. He stopped walking without crutches completely. And still he went to school. He is everywhere without crutches. These are our little victories. Without this gym, without these exercises that go on TV, it would be unrealistic that this child would be recovering already.
Yana; Air & Water Pollution Levels
“All our work depends on this Internet.”
Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Yana. I left the Kherson region. I left the occupation at the beginning of the war. I work in Kherson regional center with hydrometeorology. This is a student dormitory. It was given to us, as internally displaced people, for use.
Can you tell us how you were before the TSF Wi-Fi was installed, and now?
From the very beginning, we worked with the help of the Internet, because we need remote access to our systems. All our work depends on this Internet. We worked on Wi-Fi, we paid for it, but it worked very badly. There were constant interruptions.
As hydrologists, we process water levels, chemical pollution, in the air and water. The weather forecast you see on the Internet, we do it all. You can contact us for information, we provide it.
Therefore, the Internet is extremely important to us. We are very grateful that everything works stably now and to have the opportunity to use it.
See you in two weeks!
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