Help Oleksandr and Lidiya Zhgul Find a permanent home at "Our People" Senior Center

Oleksandr (74), once the deputy director of a wellness center, and his wife Lidiya (64), a nurse, lived in Nova Kakhovka. Their lives were filled with work, community, and plans for retirement. When occupation made life impossible, they fled in June 2022, leaving behind a badly damaged home that could no longer provide shelter or safety.

They resettled in Vinnytsia as displaced persons, trying to rebuild from nothing. Yet the trauma of their flight remains — nights without sleep, days filled with worry, and the haunting memory of leaving behind everything they had built.

Oleksandr had worked as an engineer, energy specialist, and lecturer, while Lidiya served her community as a nurse. Yet now, despite a lifetime of work, they find themselves starting over with nothing. Their children too are displaced, scattered by the war. Their story reflects the cruel irony of lives defined by service and work, reduced in old age to the struggle for basic survival.