Elderly people don’t give up: how older Ukrainians bring the victory closer

What is the problem?

Ukrainians over 60 make up about one-fourth of the total population, which is approximately 10 million people. The war has had a significant impact on their lives, causing many destructive emotions, such as anxiety, loss of future prospects, depression, and fears of becoming a burden to their families and society. Their financial situation went down, and their health got worse in constant stress.

What is the solution?

Ukrainian elderly people are not giving up. Every day, they prove that neither war nor age is an obstacle for those who intend to live. Despite the challenges and problems older people face, they stay active, bring positive change to their lives, and benefit their communities. They find new ways of self-improvement and significantly contribute to Ukrainian victory.

How does it work?

Volunteering helps Ukrainian pensioners stay active, be needed, and stay involved in public life. Seniors participate in volunteer programs, charity events, cultural activities, and communities, supporting Ukrainian forces, refugees, and everyone who needs a good push.

Cherkasy retirees Oleksandr Zaspa and Mykola Sviatenko are helping a project to collect disposed computer equipment to support Ukrainian troops. Computers, tablets, mobile phones, and accessories are being collected at a city's school.

Mykola Svyatenko used to teach at this facility twenty years ago, but now he works with technology at his desk. He disassembles and sorts the equipment brought by the residents. He has never done anything like this before but is sure that it is never too late to learn. 75-year-old Oleksandr Zaspa, a retired driver, has long been on a well-deserved vacation, but he has also retrained from a pensioner to a volunteer to help Ukrainian forces.

Hryhorii Zaspa, a local teacher and founder of the "Muscovite Killing Junk" project, says a third of his assistants are also retired.

"Retirees are people who have free time but cannot help the Armed Forces financially because they have low incomes. However, they can make a great contribution to our victory, for example, by disassembling equipment. Old system units, motherboards, processors, video cards, tablets, smartphones or push-button cell phones are like trench candle jars, usually thrown away in the garbage, polluting the environment, so now volunteers are making a product that is very necessary for the army," said Hryhorii.

Since the beginning of the year, volunteers have raised over $5,000 to help the Cherkasy defense brigade. The volunteers have already purchased a  minibus for the 118th Brigade of the Territorial Defense and are currently preparing laptops and computers that are urgently needed.

Ukrainian pensioners don't only possess free time but also experience, organizational skills, and willpower. Lyudmyla Ustymenko, from the city of Kamianske near Dnipro, is a pensioner by age but not by spirit. At the beginning of the all-out war, she wanted to enlist in the territorial defense but was rejected. This did upset Lyudmyla, but not for long, as she decided to be useful and founded the "Pavutynka" ("Spider web") volunteer center.

Volunteers started weaving masking needs, creating patterns, and sewing military pouches. Then, they switched to first aid kits, stretchers, and tablet covers. In the fall, the team sewed waterproof raincoats for the soldiers. The center also helps refugees and large families with food, clothing, and stationery. Lyudmyla says these people come to "Pavutynka" every day, so the center helps dozens of people in a day.

Lyudmyla's experience as a tourism guide helped her to find like-minded people who became part of the volunteer center's team. She worked for 40 years with children and still runs a scouting and hiking club. It's easy for her to communicate with people, and social media greatly assists.

"I started working with the people who live in the same building, as I do. I asked them to help, and they agreed. Then people on Facebook read my posts and responded to the request too. The refugees who come to us for help later join in," said Lyudmyla. The volunteer added that she will rest after the victory, but for now she has a lot of work to do.

The elderly people who visit the Mankivka Social Services Center in central Cherkasy were active way before the war. Hobby groups have long been running here with tours, New Year's Eve "corporate parties," and sports competitions. There are foreign language classes, history lectures, and meetings with psychologists. But today, these women also cook for Ukrainian forces and participate in charity fairs. They believe that any help is important, even if it is not that major. "We are doing everything possible," the volunteers say.

The women also don't neglect caring about their own community. The other day, elderly ladies from the village of Dzenzelivka started to arrange a flower bed in the local park. They brought flowers and garden tools and were in a good mood. Throughout the summer, irises, peonies, and other flowers will delight Dzenzelivka residents with their colors.

"Girls will always be girls, they won't sit around! With such hard-working people, I believe Ukraine will be rebuilt quickly!" said Yulia Panchuk, head of the Mankivska village council's CPCS.

Nadiia Krupenych, from the town of Burshtyn in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region, also sees Ukraine as a blooming, fertile, and green state. In early April, the woman sent 240 hibiscus seedlings, snowdrops, daffodils, irises, and fruit trees to Kharkiv by mail after hearing that citizens called for help with landscaping the city. Some of Nadiia's seedlings have already found their place in the park on Kharkiv's Liberty Square, as almost 50 hibiscus seedlings have been planted near the fountain.

"I wanted to cheer people up," the woman said.

Nadiia Krupenich plans to send yoshta bushes, a hybrid of currant and gooseberry, during fall. As a token of gratitude, Kharkiv municipal services also sent Nadiia flower seedlings.

"Ba and D Club" is a community of 30 active elderly people founded by Halyna Plotnytska. Before retirement, she worked as a teacher, but now she is overcoming stereotypes associated with retirement age and helping others to cope with it.

"The pension crisis is the second age of transformation," said Halyna. It took her several years to go through this crisis on her own. At 60, she returned to school, creating the social enterprise "Ba and D Freelancers." The company's members provide childcare services, such as picking up children from school or kindergarten, walking with them, taking them to clubs and movies, doing homework together, reading, and drawing. They cook and feed children and help parents with household chores, if necessary. The project also has an online babysitting service, where children are communicated via video and social media, and childcare in "To Ba and D" hubs, known as shared spaces for children, adults, and seniors.

The social enterprise's list of services also includes nursing care, housework, purchasing medicines and groceries, and companionship.

Ba and D's services are cheaper than those of professional agencies. The approach to work is "home-based": older people become friends with their peers and adopted grandchildren. "The School of Nannies," which was opened on the basis of the Department of Psychology and Preschool Pedagogy at Precarpathian University, helps with this by training future freelancers for free.

"Involvement heals. If you do what is needed by someone who is worse off than you, you rise above your troubles. It gives you strength," Halyna said.

Active older pals will beat many younger Ukrainians with their energy, which proves once again that youth is the spirit's friend, and this special energy cannot be lost even with the passage of years. Despite the war, many retirees are finding hobbies they didn't have time or opportunity for before. They discover sports, literature, and music, and develop in the field of computer technology. These activities not only bring them joy and satisfaction but also keep their spirits high.

Despite the war, stress, and possible illnesses, the elderly of Horodnia in the northern Chernihiv region are keen on dancing. Aged from 66 to 77 years old, they gather at the Horodnia Social Services Center weekly. At first, they were a little shy about being fans of dancing, but now they are proud of it. They say that the classes help maintain their health and distract them from sad thoughts about the war.

The dance group has been operating since 2019 and has survived the pandemic and Russian occupation, 66-year-old Nataliia Buras, who was previously engaged in folk dancing, now heads the group.

"I adapt the dances to our age and health," said Nataliia, "I noticed that the girls could not perform certain moves at first, but after a few lessons, they made it. Dancing unites people, which is very important in such a difficult time. Someone has a grandson at war, and my daughter in Kharkiv was left homeless because of shelling. We support each other in all our troubles."

The elderly people have been dancing for 30 years in Teatralna metro station in Ukraine's capital. Kyiv pensioners, also called "the dancers on Teatralna," regularly visit the station to dance, relax, and socialize, or even find love and friends. Due to the war, the meetings had to be suspended for nine months. The enemy attacks failed to wipe out the wonderful tradition, even with constant missile launches on the capital. The full-fledged war has been going on for more than a year, but despite everything, live music and elegant couples waltz on Teatralna Street every Saturday and Sunday.

During the war, not only dances are held in the subway, but also first aid training. A Rubryka photographer attended one of these trainings, noticing young people usually joining such trainings, while older people just watch and leave quickly.

However, on that day, the medic Vasyl Anatoliyovych was especially interested in teaching because two elderly women joined the training at the Kyiv metro station. They listened to the doctors and put the knowledge into practice. We are confident that now these ladies will not get confused in case of danger and can provide first aid to themselves and their loved ones if necessary.

Vinnytsia pensioners announced the opening of the cycling season. Last year idea to offer pensioners rides on municipal bicycles at the territorial social service center was financed by local patrons and the council. The initiative aims to encourage elderly Vinnytsia residents not to sit still.

Although there are many bike paths in the city, people ride mostly in squares and forest parks to get fresh air. To make their walks more fun, they sing Ukrainian songs.

"We need to move. If a person sits between four walls and smokes, eats, and sleeps, that's not life. This is survival. You have to go out and meet people, go for a ride. There is something to do. The main thing is not to be lazy," said Mykola Sydoruk, a visitor to the territorial center.

Mykola is the unofficial leader of the team. He always goes first on his bicycle, setting the direction and speed for the whole group.

The pensioners host bike rides four times a week, at least two hours a day. The main thing, they say, is that the weather permits.

Even the rain does not bother these pensioners. Valentyn Dudkin, his wife, and neighbors gather in a Kyiv yard in any weather. Every day at 9 a.m., after an all-national minute of silence to honor the fallen Ukrainian soldiers, they sing the national anthem and the popular song "Chervona Kalyna." Valentyn accompanies the trombone while others hold Ukrainian flags and sing along.

Valentyn is from Donetsk, now occupied by Russian forces, and led a children's brass band. He had not played the trombone for 30 years, but the full-scale war motivated him to pick up the instrument again.

Residents note that the initiative improves their mood and morale. The performers themselves say that in this way, they "send a wild desire to defeat Russian soldiers." They added that they will continue to sing every day until they win.

Granfluencers are just older people with a large number of followers. Brands engage them to attract attention among the 60+ audience, as this trend has become very popular in Western media.

However, recently, this trend has also been presented to Ukrainian social media. You've probably already seen our retirees' video blogs on YouTube, dedicated to the intricacies of cooking dishes, life hacks for gardening, or just pictures of rural life. Blogs by elderly people who share their experiences show how they care for goats or grow cabbage and gather many subscribers.

Lviv nursing home workers have also joined blogging. Two years ago, they founded the knitwear brand Vbrani. Socks, mittens, and hats knitted by Lviv grandmothers are sold on social media with a brand logo and special packaging. This is not only entertainment but also income for lonely elderly people.

This year, the Vbrani brand launched a YouTube project where elderly ladies tried themselves as knitting teachers. So far, two videos have been published: Valentyna from Lviv explains how to create socks using the Turkish knitting method, and Larysa, who had to move to Lviv last year due to the full-scale war, teaches how to create a cup holder. She plans to record a lesson on knitting bags. 

Even more useful solutions!

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has awarded the Order "For Courage" of the III degree to Anatoliy Maistrenko, a resident of the Kherson region.

Anatolii is a pensioner from Arkhangelske, who risked his own life to help people evacuate during the Russian occupation. For several months, he transported over 2,000 people fleeing the Russian invaders across the Ingulets River on his own boat. He also delivered scouts and humanitarian supplies to the temporarily occupied territories.

The man notes that many people proved to be very worthy in those difficult times. Local enterprises provided equipment for evacuation, and the residents of Zarichne, together with the community's head, gave temporary shelter.

Such things are done together. And we all united, we managed because we are people. I was often asked the question, "How did you dare to do this?". And I say: "Well, if not me, not you, then who?" said the brave pensioner.