“The Result of Our Joint Work is a Happy Child and Mother” — How Link Connects Partners to Help People

Publication date: January 17, 2026

Author: Valentyna Chabanova-Babak, Content Manager, Link Platform

The collaboration between two organizations via the Link platform has provided a child with a disability from a de-occupied community in the Kherson region with a necessary mobility device. The Link platform is implemented by the Legal Development Network in cooperation with the Czech humanitarian organization People in Need, with funding from the UK Government.

Olha Voronova lives with her daughter and husband in a village within the Dariivka community of the Kherson region. Her four-year-old daughter, Yeseniia, has cerebral palsy (CP). She cannot walk independently and requires a specialized device—a gait trainer/stander—to move. The family could not afford to purchase one. Olha had reached out to various foundations for help, but her efforts yielded no results.

“We searched for them for two years—ever since the CP diagnosis was made. I turned to different foundations, but no one could help,” says Olha Voronova.

The NGO “Poruch” provides psychosocial support to children in Kherson communities. Eight mobile teams, along with facilitators and case managers, travel directly to various settlements. It was during one of these field visits that representatives of the organization met Olha Voronova.

“They asked why the child wasn’t walking and why she was always being carried. They said, ‘Maybe put her in a gait trainer?’ And I replied that I didn’t have one, even though they were prescribed by doctors,” Olha Voronova recalls.

The case manager from NGO “Poruch” promised Olha she would help find the necessary equipment for the child.

Svitlana Ushkats, Safety Officer at the Southern Coordination Center of the “Poruch” All-Ukrainian NGO 

Svitlana Ushkats, Safety Officer of the All-Ukrainian NGO “Poruch” (Southern Coordination Center), explains the process:

“The girl’s mother turned to our specialist with a request for help in acquiring a gait trainer. It didn’t matter to her whether it was used or new; the main thing was to receive it,” says Svitlana.

“As soon as I submitted the request on Link, a specialist responded very quickly. She gathered all the necessary information and technical specifications for the gait trainer. Only a few weeks passed, and the necessary mobility aid was found,” Svitlana continues.

Although gait trainers are relatively rare and not always easily accessible rehabilitation tools, the request was closed quickly thanks to another partner organization—the “We Are from Ukraine 2022” Charitable Foundation.

Valentyna Pototska, Manager of the “We Are from Ukraine 2022” Foundation

Valentyna Pototska, Manager of the “We Are from Ukraine 2022” Foundation, notes: “Wheelchairs, canes, adult walkers—we have these things. But gait trainers for children are hard to find. We offered a slightly different model than the original request, and fortunately, it suited the child perfectly.”

The settlement is periodically under fire, making access difficult. Therefore, the delivery of the equipment required careful coordination.

Tetiana Tymoshyna, Link Team Coordinator for Humanitarian Response in the Mykolaiv and Kherson oblasts

Tetiana Tymoshyna, Link Team Coordinator for Humanitarian Response in the Mykolaiv and Kherson oblasts, explains the difficulty: “Humanitarian convoys do not travel to the village where the family lives because it is very close to the contact line. We had to find a way to deliver it.”

The solution was found: a Link specialist responsible for collecting humanitarian needs brought the equipment to the nearest accessible settlement. From there, the village head (starosta) delivered it directly to Olha Voronova.

The gait trainer (stander) provided to the child through the collaboration of NGOs via the Link mechanism.

“The result of our joint work is a happy child and mother. We are very grateful to our partners for the fact that, together, we helped the child quickly, efficiently, and constructively,” concludes Svitlana Ushkats.

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