Adaptive sports for veterans: space for rehabilitation and reintegration opened in Myronivka

An adaptive club for veterans and people with disabilities has been opened in Myronivka, Kyiv region, and has already held its first training session using the new sports equipment. Among the participants is veteran Yaroslav Gulenko, who shared his experience of rehabilitation through sports.

"Sport is the best method of adaptation and rehabilitation for a veteran. When you go in for sports, all your thoughts are focused on the body's work, and any memories and stupid thoughts about the war are pushed away. When you train, your emotions are completely different, there is no negativity, and aggression disappears through physical activity. The rehabilitation club is very necessary, and even more so with such cool equipment," says Yaroslav Gulenko, a veteran and trainer at the MHVCC gym.

Before the war, Yaroslav had been working at the Myronivka Cereals and Feed Plant since 2016 and was a foreman of the waste briquetting line before the full-scale invasion. On April 4, 2022, he came to the defense of the country. In August 2023, Yaroslav returned home after being wounded and underwent treatment and rehabilitation. With the support of the MHP Poruch program, the veteran was offered a new position, as his previous duties became difficult to perform due to his war injuries. He was invited to become a sports specialist, as Yaroslav is an avid athlete and a member of the MHVCC football team.

Dmytro Zhukotansky, First Deputy Mayor of Myronivka: "I am immensely grateful that our defenders are risking their lives for our victory and security. We support the military and have allocated UAH 114 million from the city council in 2024. We also see the needs of veterans and try to create comfortable conditions for their rehabilitation and adaptation." 

Myronivka Health Space from Myronivka City Council is one of 15 winners of the Time to Act, Unstoppable competition, which received grant support on a co-financing basis from the MHP-Hromada Charitable Foundation as part of the MHP Poruch reintegration program for military and veterans, the All-Ukrainian Center for Physical Health "Sport for All" State Institution, with the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine as part of the Active Parks project under the Presidential Program. The total budget of this project is 600 thousand UAH.

"Thanks to the caring community members who applied for the Time to Act, Unstoppable competition, Myronivka now has such a club. Our Charitable Foundation and the MHP Poruch program for reintegration and adaptation of military personnel, veterans and their families will always support and help develop such projects. After all, adaptive sport for veterans and people with disabilities is a key element of physical, psychological and social recovery," says Volodymyr Panchenko, Head of the National Projects Implementation Department at MHP-Hromada Charitable Foundation. 

The rehabilitation coaches, who received special training as part of the project, spoke about the club's development plans, including opening sections for people with disabilities, developing programs, and conducting regular training sessions for veterans.

Serhiy Rybiy, Head of Security at Myronivka Cereals and Feed Plant: "On behalf of our plant, I would like to thank the defenders for their huge contribution to the ability of business to operate during the war. The taxes paid by MHP's enterprises contribute to the community budget. Among other things, these funds make it possible to implement social projects and projects aimed at rehabilitating veterans, which is very valuable and necessary for the lives of our defenders."

The development of adaptive sports is an important investment in the health, well-being and future of communities. By supporting such initiatives, we are taking a step towards creating an inclusive society where everyone has a chance for a fresh start, regardless of their circumstances.

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"Time to Act, Unstoppable" is a grant competition for communities that can receive up to 400 thousand UAH to create an adaptive club "Unstoppable" in their village or town. 

The project is being implemented in 13 regions of Ukraine, namely: Vinnytsia, Volyn, Dnipropetrovs'k, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Lviv, Poltava, Sumy, Ternopil, Khmelnytsky, Cherkasy, Chernihiv regions and the city of Kyiv.  

Project partners: MHP-Hromada Charitable Foundation within the framework of the MHP Poruch military and veterans reintegration program, State Institution All-Ukrainian Center for Physical Health "Sport for All" within the framework of the Active Parks project of the President of Ukraine program, Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine. 

The project aims to create and equip sports centers in communities adapted for people with disabilities, including people with disabilities as a result of war, where they can engage in physical education, communicate with like-minded people and receive professional support from qualified trainers, stimulating their reintegration into the social life of the community.