GURT’s partners provided psychosocial rehabilitation services to more than fifteen thousand of Ukrainians affected by Russia’s aggression in 2022-2024.
Ukrainian civil society faces many challenges related to the consequences of the war. One of the most important is the recovery of people after experiencing crises and trauma. Human potential is critical for the victory and following rebuilding of Ukraine.
Restoration and development of the human potential of Ukrainian communities are key priorities for GURT and regional partners. An approach like group psychosocial rehabilitation has repeatedly proven its effectiveness. The methodology helps people survive traumatic experiences, adapt to changes, and return to normal life, which ultimately strengthens the community and the country.
For many years, GURT has been developing a network of organizations that use community-based group psychosocial rehabilitation approach in their work. In 2022-2024, GURT’s partners organized self-help group work in communities of thirteen regions of Ukraine. The primary beneficiaries of these services are veterans, families of Ukrainian defenders, and IDPs.
Vasylyna K., IDP from Donbas, wife of a prisoner of war:
“My husband was a prisoner of war; I know how difficult it is. First, I went through the group psychosocial rehabilitation myself. After attending GURT’s training, I became a self-help group facilitator.
Now, I help our defenders’ wives deal with their emotions and fears. In my group, there are several wives of recons. For obvious reasons, they are cautious about communicating with other people. Only in this group they may openly express their emotions and get the necessary support”.
Vasylyna’s full story in Ukrainian
GURT develops the capacity of its regional partners to provide effective community-based group psychosocial rehabilitation. Regular learning exchange events help self-help group facilitators to discuss problematic methodological issues, find practical solutions in assisting people affected by Russia’s aggression, and exchange valuable practical experience.
Andriy Kinash, self-help group facilitator, NGO Poltava Social Service of Ukraine:
“We see that self-help group socio-psychological rehabilitation is very effective, and this activity is gaining more and more momentum now. It is important to understand that we work for the future: we started the rehabilitation process, and the results appear gradually. The longer we work, the more significant results will be achieved”.
In 2022-2024, these activities were enabled by financial support from Sweden (Sida), the National Endowment for Democracy, and the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation.
More stories of people benefited from the community-based group psychosocial rehabilitation here (in Ukrainian).
