“I walk with two sticks, but only around the apartment,” – Assistance to lonely people in the Sumy region

“I walk with two sticks, but only around the apartment. My pacemaker needs to be checked, so Olia accompanies me everywhere. She goes to the store and the pharmacy, everywhere, because I can’t go anywhere alone,” says Nadiia, a beneficiary of the Ukrainian Red Cross’s Home-Based Care programme in the Sumy region. 

For over a year and a half, Nadiia has been under the supervision and care of Olha, a social assistant of the Ukrainian Red Cross. Olha assists with household chores such as cooking, cleaning rooms, changing bed linen, taking out the garbage, and purchasing and delivering food, water, and medicines. She also provides emotional support. This support is crucial as lonely people like Nadiia, who face health challenges such as disability, severe chronic illness, or stroke, may find it difficult to manage these routine tasks alone.  

In the Sumy region, 60 social assistants of the Ukrainian Red Cross provide care for over 330 lonely elderly people in 40 towns and villages. The work of social assistants in the Sumy region is supported by the Swedish Red Cross.