Ukrainian NGO Right to Protection supports people with reduced mobility in small communities with new specialized cars

Six communities in the Kyiv, Chernivtsi, and Dnipropetrovsk regions were given six specialized vehicles to transport people with reduced mobility. The Right to Protection charity fund delivered the cars to support the social taxi service. 

People with reduced mobility, vulnerable residents of the community, and displaced people can now reach specialized institutions, utility services, and hospitals to receive the necessary help and services, Rubryka reports.

What is the problem?

Right to Protection delivered the cars to Baryshivka, Vasylivka, and Fastiv communities (Kyiv region), Sofiivka, and Pavlohrad (Dnipropetrovsk region), and Khotyn (Chernitsi region), which are the home to about 18,000 people with disabilities. The largest number — over 10,000 — lives in the Pavlohrad community. These towns also host about 36,000 internally displaced persons.

People with disabilities and other vulnerable Ukrainians living in villages need to get to cities to issue documents or visit a doctor. Often, settlements that are part of communities have inconvenient transport connections. Public transport does not have conditions for persons with disabilities, so basic services, including access to needed institutions, often become unavailable.

"One of the priorities of our territorial community is to develop services for people from vulnerable categories of the population," said Natalia Proskurniak, director at the social services center of the Khotyn City Council of the Chernivtsi region. "Besides local residents, our community has sheltered many internally displaced persons, including people with reduced mobility. A specialized car will be one more service of our inclusive center for children and a multidisciplinary hospital. Transportation to these institutions was the number one issue." 

What is the solution?

The Right to Protection handed over six cars specially converted for people with disabilities. All cars have a five-year warranty and are equipped with a lift for people in wheelchairs, special seat belts, child seats, fire extinguishers, and first aid kits. Together with the cars, the fund donated sets of winter tires.

"Unfortunately, the number of people with disabilities is increasing daily. We realize that we must create even more opportunities for people with limited mobility and consider the needs of everyone as much as possible, especially in transportation," said Kateryna Zadoienko, project manager of the Response Consortium at Right to Protection. "The movement issue is very acute for people with disabilities in remote settlements, where the hospital or social services cannot be easily reached by public transport. Our task within this socially significant project was to make the lives of locals and internally displaced persons a little easier and more comfortable."

She went on to add that the fund was happy to collaborate with the communities and meet the needs of vulnerable Ukrainians. "We are confident that this cooperation is a huge step towards an inclusive society," she said.

The Right to Protection fund could purchase, refurbish, and hand over cars to the communities thanks to the Ukraine Response Consortium project, coordinated by the ACTED international charity and funded by the USAID Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA).

So far, the fund has delivered the cars twice. In the spring of this year, the Right to Protection delivered cars to other communities in Chernivtsi and Dnipropetrovsk regions. As part of future projects, the fund plans to buy more vehicles, refurbish them, and transfer them to other communities.

How does it work?

Each community will develop regulations and procedures that people with limited mobility must follow to apply for transportation services. All cars should be used as social taxis, with the help of which every person with a disability can visit public institutions to solve their needs and feel like an independent member of society.

To receive a car, people with limited mobility and persons with disabilities should contact the social welfare office in their communities with a request. Social workers will accept applications and explain how to receive a specially equipped car.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that after the war, many veterans and civilians in Ukraine would have suffered injuries due to hostilities, so the state should create an exemplary barrier-free environment.

Rubryka also reported that the urban bureau Big City Lab team launched a collection of stories about accessibility under the slogan, "If we make cities comfortable for people with disabilities, we will make them comfortable for everyone."