Rehabilitation and reintegration into society is a difficult path that veterans of the Russian-Ukrainian war go through when returning to civilian life. Work, the attitude of others, and special adaptive programs play an important role in recovery. Veteran Yuriy Hrytsai has been fighting since 2014, and in the spring of 2022 he took part in the battles for Luhansk region, during which he received several severe contusions. After a long rehabilitation, Yuriy felt the desire to return to work, and the MHP Poruch program for supporting military personnel, veterans and their families helped him adapt to a new place. Yuriy Hrytsay told Ukrayinska Pravda about how his work became an additional motivation that helped him to level his psychological state and overcome difficulties in his new place, as well as about his plans for the future, UNN reports.
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Yuriy started his career as a chef back in 2000.
"In 2000, I had a dream of making money and traveling abroad. I went to France, served a contract in the French Foreign Legion, saw the world, made some money and started learning the profession of a cook. But when the Maidan started, I returned to Ukraine. On March 1, 2014, I volunteered to defend Ukraine," he recalls.
The man witnessed a full-scale invasion in the French city of Bordeaux.
"I was improving my skills there. On February 24, at 6 am, my wife called me. She was crying and told me that there were explosions in Dnipro, that the airport was being "bombed". On February 25, I was already in Dnipro and volunteered for the Dnipro-1 battalion. I remember that when I was crossing the border, a State Border Guard Service officer burst into tears - one guy in a bus to enter Ukraine," says Yuriy.
In the battles for Luhansk region, the man received severe injuries and contusions.
"On April 16, I was evacuated because I was no longer a fighter in every sense of the word. During the war, I always had three things in my pocket: a cell phone, a military ID card, and a letter from my wife that she wrote to me when I was going to fight. And when I was evacuated with injuries, I took out my phone and saw that there was only 5% of the charge left. In the hospital in Lysychansk, I called my wife and told her that I was alive, but I never read the letter - it was worn out. My wife consoled me by saying that she would write me as many letters as she wanted, because the main thing was that I was alive," Yuriy recalls.
Doctors treated the soldier first in Dnipro and then in Kyiv. Yuriy underwent rehabilitation at Oleksandrivska Hospital in the capital. Over time, the man returned to civilian life and began a long path of rehabilitation. He was supported in this process by the MHP Poruch Veterans Reintegration and Rehabilitation Program.
"I have worked in different countries around the world - the Baltic States, Scandinavia, Saudi Arabia, France. I started my culinary career in France and will finish it at MHP. Everyone wants to go abroad, but I came here from there. I came to stability. I want to be here. I pay taxes, support the economy, and am on my native land. I want to be here. The company gives me an official competitive salary, and I do what I love," the man says.
Yuriy has been working at the MHP Culinary Center since the fall of 2023. As part of the MHP Next Door program, the veteran is supported in his treatment and rehabilitation, as well as psychological support. After winning, Yuriy dreams of buying a house and breeding quail. He plans to finish a motivational book.
"I am currently living in the moment and enjoying every minute. Yes, it is painful and scary when rockets are flying at civilian cities, but you have to live here and now," he adds.
"MHP Poruch"is a program of individual support and comprehensive support for military personnel, veterans, their families and those waiting for their loved ones to return from the war. The program is aimed at employees and residents of communities where MHP, an international food and agro-technology company, has production facilities. The program supports defenders and their families during service and after returning from the war: - humanitarian aid to military units, - medical examination, treatment and rehabilitation, - legal and psychological support, - social reintegration, - professional adaptation, - a free hotline available 24/7. The Center for Interaction with the Military and Veterans operates systematically, and its coordinators provide individualized support and comprehensive assistance to defenders and their families on a daily basis.