A Corner of Peace

Knights of Columbus support elderly Ukrainians displaced by the war

By Jarosław Herman

July 24, 2025

Bishop Mykhailo Bubniy (center), exarch of Odesa, Ukraine, and state chaplain of the country’s Ukrainian Greek Catholic Knights, and Father Vasyl Kolodchyn (to the bishop’s left), director of Caritas Odesa, join residents, parishioners and local officials for the consecration of the Kovcheh (“the Ark”) shelter in Rakulove, Ukraine, on June 17, 2023. The residence, supported by the Knights of Columbus, provides a home for elderly Ukrainians displaced by war. (Photo courtesy of Caritas Odesa UGCC)

Raisa Shcherbakova had a good life with her family in Pokrovsk, Ukraine, before the Russian invasion. But as the war intensified and Russian forces approached Pokrovsk in February, she was forced to flee her home, seeking safety in Odesa. There, she was welcomed by Caritas Odesa UGCC, a charitable mission of the Catholic Church in Ukraine, which offered her a place at a shelter for older adults in Rakulove, a quiet village in northern Odesa.

The residence, named Kovcheh or “the Ark,” was born from a pressing need observed by Bishop Mykhailo Bubniy, exarch of Odesa, Ukraine, and state chaplain of the country’s Ukrainian Greek Catholic Knights. He and the Caritas Odesa staff noticed that older adults were often left to fend for themselves.

“We wanted to create a place for these internally displaced elderly people, a corner where we could serve them and help them,” Bishop Bubniy explained.

Funded by generous benefactors, a former school building in Rakulove was renovated and adapted to become a home for older people, opening its doors on June 17, 2023. Since then, the Ark has provided safe refuge to more than 100 older people displaced by the war. There are currently 22 people living on-site — mostly women from eastern Ukraine.

The shelter offers comprehensive support, including home care, access to medical services and transportation, psychological support, legal advice and spiritual care.

“All residents of the shelter feel calm, protected and supported, which is very important during wartime,” noted Father Vasyl Kolodchyn, director of Caritas Odesa.

For Shcherbakova, who had fled a nightmare of bombs and explosions, arriving at the Ark was overwhelming.

“When I got out of the car, the first thing that struck me was the fresh air,” she remarked. “I can’t describe it to you. The house is so beautiful.”

After a warm greeting, staff members provided her with towels and soap: “They gave me everything,” she said. “I finally felt safe, and I slept like a log.”

The Ark’s residents follow a purposeful routine each day, centered around community life, health and wellness check-ins, and individual and group therapy sessions. In their free time, residents care for vegetable gardens and animals. Painting and other creative activities are also part of the comprehensive psychological support offered to residents as a way to process the trauma of war.

This stability is life-changing for residents like Lunchenko Hanna, a woman in her early 80s. The departure from her home in Donetsk was sudden, she explained. “A bus was passing by and the driver shouted that I had two minutes to get ready and get on the bus,” she recalled. “Of course, I didn’t even have time to change my clothes, so I came wearing what I had on.”

After trying to stay in other parts of Ukraine, she found peace only in Rakulove. “I have no relatives left who could take care of me and support me,” she said. “At the shelter, I feel cared for and loved.”

a women outdoors playing checkers sitting at a table with a black automobile visible in the background — Raisa Shcherbakova, a resident of the Kovcheh shelter, plays a game of checkers outside the facility in Rakulove, Ukraine. (Photo courtesy of Caritas Odesa UGCC)

A beacon of hope for dozens of older Ukrainians like Shcherbakova and Hanna, the residence faced hard financial times this year, which almost led to its closure.

Originally, the plan was to operate the home for three years, with the hope that the war would end. “These people would be able to return to their homes, but unfortunately, the war continues,” said Bishop Bubniy. “Some of the people who moved there lost everything.”

When the bishop visited the home earlier this year, he was informed by Father Andriy Syrko, the home’s administrator, that in a couple of months, “we would be forced to evict these people and close the home because there was no funding,” the bishop recalled.

In this moment of need, Bishop Bubniy turned to the Supreme Council, whose subsequent financial support allowed the shelter to remain open.

The timing of this support, near the July 26 feast of Sts. Joachim and Ann, the grandparents of Jesus, gives it special significance. “If children, whether they are biological or spiritual children, do not support their ancestors, then there is a big question mark about Christian values in general,” Bishop Bubniy said.

“Because there have even been cases where [the residents] have been forcibly displaced more than once, they are exhausted and simply want to stay where they have found peace,” Father Kolodchyn added.

The Order’s commitment to Ukraine’s most vulnerable communities, particularly older adults, extends across the country. The Supreme Council’s grant to the Rakulove shelter is just one of several examples of Knights providing homes and a sense of community to displaced persons in Ukraine.

Residents participate in an art therapy session at the Kovcheh shelter in Rakulove, Ukraine, in August 2024. The facility is supported by a grant from the Knights of Columbus. (Photo courtesy of Caritas Odesa UGCC)

Last year, a similar project began in Briukhovychi, a suburb of Lviv, where the Order partnered with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church’s Mudra Sprava (“Wise Cause”) foundation to build a small village of modular houses for displaced Ukrainian families. Today, it is a thriving community where 17 displaced families live, including nine older adults who have found comfort and stability living among younger neighbors.

For retired people like Nataliia, who fled the Kherson region, the small house in Briukhovychi is a sanctuary.

“For older people, the main thing is to have some peace and quiet,” she said. This sense of security — magnified by the presence of chaplain Father Ihor Tykar, support and camaraderie from staff and other residents, and the joy of seeing young children run and play — has the power to help the older residents heal. “When you look at children, a smile appears on your lips, and you forget about the grief,” said Natalia.

The residents also spend holidays like Christmas and Easter together and occasionally gather to prepare varenyky, a traditional Ukrainian dumpling, to send along with prayers and notes of support to Ukrainian soldiers.

“Everyone is tired of this war, but we must understand that Ukraine continues to bleed,” Bishop Bubniy said. “Therefore, we kindly ask [people] not to abandon us, not to leave Ukraine without care and assistance.”

To learn more about the Order’s work in Ukraine and to support those efforts, visit kofc.org/ukraine.

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JAROSŁAW HERMAN writes from Kraków, Poland.