An adaptive sports club for veterans and people with disabilities was opened in Povorsk
On January 16, an adaptive sports space operating on the premises of the Culture and Leisure Center was opened in Povorsk village.
During the event, a coach Pavlo Brycha held a promo training session for veterans and people with disabilities.
Adaptive sports space in Povorsk is one of the 15 winners of the Time to Act, Unstoppable! competition, which received a grant from MHP-Gromadi Charitable Foundation under the co-financing conditions within MHP Poruch reintegration program for military and veterans and the State Institution “All-Ukrainian Center for Physical Health of the Population ‘Sports for All’” supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine as part of the presidential Active Parks project.
Veteran Serhiy Tkachuk, who has joined the 14th Mechanized Brigade in the first days of the war and is currently training in a new adaptive club, says: “I served in the Kharkiv and Donetsk directions. I was wounded near the village of Dovhenke, after which I was demobilized. I am a physical rehabilitation specialist by profession, so I realize the importance of such adaptive sports spaces. Military personnel and veterans gather here not only to keep and restore their physical fitness but also to communicate.”
According to Inna Bondarchuk, the Head of the Povorsk Community, they currently have more than 4,000 residents, including almost 200 mobilized soldiers serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine under contract, and 65 war veterans who have returned home. The Community was motivated to participate in the competition by their wish to create a comfortable space where veterans would come not only to work out but also to communicate, relax, and spend time pleasantly.
A serviceman Yuriy Rud visited the space opening with his wife. Yuriy performed combat missions at the front within the Lyut Assault Brigade, the Safari unit, and was wounded near Chasiv Yar. He is now awaiting transfer to another unit to continue to perform his duties as an instructor and assist in the training of others. Yuriy says: “Guys need space to exercise, chat, learn something new, clear their minds, and forget about the bad things they may have seen or experienced. This will be a good example for the younger generation visiting the space.
Olha Cheren, the Head of the Kovel District State Administration, also attended the event. She noted that she was proud of the proactive community residents who joined efforts, received a grant, and created such a space. She emphasized the importance of the space for the mental and physical recovery of military personnel and veterans. “Our Defenders, including those from your community, who protect us, allow us to have our state and to implement such projects here,” Olha noted.
Ruslan Pashyan, Director of MHP-Buffalo, Western Hub, added: “Nowadays, we witness how our society is changing. It becomes adaptive and inclusive. We are happy to be a part or even a driver of such changes to some extent. Within MHP Poruch program, we readily respond to the needs of community residents and do whatever possible to help military and veterans return to civilian life as quickly as possible – this is one of our main vectors.”
Yegor Alekseyenko, the Head of the Event Department of State Institution “Sports for All”, noted: “Establishing adaptive clubs is an opportunity for every veteran to restore physical activity, find support, feel their strength, and fulfill their potential. We are always ready to account for the veterans’ needs when planning and implementing this project. The veterans’ opinion is our priority.”
Additional information:
Time to Act, Unstoppable is a grant competition allowing communities to get up to UAH 400,000 to establish an Unstoppable Adaptive Club in their village or town.
The project is implemented on the territory of 13 regions of Ukraine, namely: Vinnytsia, Volyn, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Lviv, Poltava, Sumy, Ternopil, Khmelnytskiy, Cherkasy, Chernihiv regions, and the City of Kyiv.
Project partners: MHP-Gromadi Charitable Foundation within MHP Poruch reintegration program for military and veterans, State Institution “All-Ukrainian Center for Physical Health of the Population ‘Sports for All’” as part of the presidential “Active Parks – locations of a healthy Ukraine” project, Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine.
The project is intended to establish and arrange community sports centers adapted for people with disabilities, including those injured during the war, where they can take physical exercises, communicate with like-minded people, and get professional support from qualified coaches, thus promoting reintegration into the community’s social life.