Time to Act, Unstoppable: an adaptive gym for veterans and people with disabilities was opened in Kolomyia, Ivano-Frankivsk region
Veteran Yurii Furyk volunteered on February 27, 2022. He served in the Kherson and Bakhmut directions. He was seriously wounded and lost his leg in the battles for Soledar.
“After losing the limb, I was in depression. However, sports helped me recover physically and mentally. “So, I will be happy to help other veterans recover,” says Yurii.
He is a certified coach at the “Sport for All” Adaptive Gym, Kolomyia, operating on the premises of Comprehensive Children and Youth Sports School. This gym 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 – locations of a healthy Ukraine” social project.
“Heroes returning from the front line need our attention and support. For a year and a half, MHP has been implementing MHP Poruch, a large-scale program of individual support for military and veterans. Adaptive sports facilitate the rehabilitation and reintegration of wounded servicemen. Therefore, we focus our attention on the establishment and development of specialized sports clubs, veteran spaces, and rehabilitation centers, among other things. “I believe that this gym in Kolomyia will be of great benefit to veterans in our region, as well as to anyone undergoing treatment and rehabilitation here,” notes Ivan Bota, Director of the Perspektyv branch, Western Hub of MHP.
There is a regional military hospital on the community territory, where military from all over Ukraine undergo treatment and rehabilitation. Therefore, such a gym in Kolomyia was an urgent need.
Yegor Alekseyenko, the Head of the Event Department of the 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.”
The project of the club establishment was implemented by Kolomyia Community Development Institute in cooperation with the Sports Department of the City Council. Sports equipment was purchased and installed, and the coach underwent specialized professional training.
The gym is equipped with whatever is necessary for high-quality rehabilitation training: a treadmill, gym machines, sets of barbells and dumbbells with benches and racks for various presses, wall bars, and a tennis table. Group training sessions take place every Wednesday and Friday at 9:30 a.m. People with disabilities also can get individual training sessions.
“Such a gym in Kolomyia is a new opportunity for people with disabilities, especially veterans, to stay healthy and keep their bodies fit.” Therefore, this facility’s operations are important for our community. “The project implemented by the joint efforts of the city council, partners, entrepreneurs, and the state proves once again that coordinated activities allow us to do more for our residents,” says Bohdan Stanislavskyy, mayor of Kolomyia.
Currently, there are over 80 adaptive clubs operating in Ukraine, where classes in general physical training, jiu-jitsu, swimming, Nordic walking, rugby, and archery are held. All these classes are adapted for people with disabilities.
“Sports help restore self-confidence, improve personal fitness, and reduce stress levels. Moreover, adaptive sports help create a sense of unity by integrating people with disabilities into active social life. For veterans, they become a way to set new goals. Such initiatives also contribute to stereo rupture and establishing a more inclusive society that values the capabilities of every person,“ says Volodymyr Panchenko, National Projects Manager of MHP-Gromadi Charitable Foundation.
Adaptive sports are about physical activity and a comprehensive approach to rehabilitating and reintegrating veterans and people with disabilities. Sports help restore motor functions, increase endurance, and improve general well-being. What is even more important – the advantage of adaptive sports is the opportunity to gradually return to an active social life. Team training, participation in competitions, and personal records allow people to feel support and unity with others, which has a positive effect on their social adaptation.
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.