Letters from Peace Corps volunteers in Velykyi Bereznyi & Rakhiv - courtesy of Prue Zimmerman

You may have read about the flooding here in the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine, but it has been completely overshadowed by the flooding and the devastation left by Hurricane Mitch. The floods of the Uzh, and Tisa rivers have been by no means comparable to what has happened in Central America, but here ther have been 19 deaths and over 3,000 people directly influenced by the flooding. Velykyi Berezny has been pretty lucky, but the other villages higher in the mountains in our park have suffered a great deal of damage. Since we are the local community center for the Velykobereznyansky district, local organizations have been going door to door to collect clothes and other forms of aid for people in our district and in the Rakhiv district (which has been hit the hardest). In the villages in the Velykoberezyansky district, houses have been destroyed, bridges wiped out and covered with mud and debris.

Here is a little description of the situation in Rakhiv written by PCV Juniper Neill:

Rakhiv sounds more like a war zone these days with all the helicopters and heavy equipment working non-stop to repair damage done by flooding of the Tysa River last week. As many of you may have heard, considerable damage was reported in Mukachevo, Chop, Khust, Tyachiv, and Rakhiv. The local Red Cross estimates that in the Rakhiv District alone, 250 houses have been severely damaged, seven of which were actually swept away in the river. Three people from our town died and one family is still missing. We've estimated that over 1,000 adults and 2,000 children in our region have been directley affected and are in need of warm clothing, food and household goods. Outside our district the numbers are even larger. However, getting aid to Rakhiv is difficult. Both roads, to Uzhgorod and to Ivano Frankivsk, are totally destroyed. The train is running sporadically due to severe damage to the tracks. One shipment of aid arrived by train yesterday (flour, powdered milk, cheese, grains, and clothes) but most of the grains were soaking wet and the clothing was in poor condition. There's not much to buy in the stores these days, and hopes are that the road to Uzhgorod can be repaired within the next week. I spent some time there yesterday. A line of refugees was walking the now built up section of road, dodging buldozers and military support. Most villages and some parts of Rakhiv are still without electricity, water, and heat. To make matters worse, snow started falling four days ago. Three main bridges are gone. My first apartment is under water. Thankfully I now live on the thrid floor!

My counterpart amazes me. Her house was under seven feet of water. They had time to save the pig and then her invalid father. The car, all kitchen appliances, and furniture in their house are covered in mud and water. She told me that in her heart she thought they should buy insurance, but they just couldn't afford it. They've lost most everything. Her brother and small dog (Beem) have to stake out the yard at night because people are stealing their apple trees. Thats right. I couldn't exactly figure out why except that now the fence along the river is gone and since there's no heat people need wood to burn. She told all of this to me with a smile on her face. She even brought me a cabbage, some carrots and potatoes because she knew I might be having trouble buying food. She just lost everything and she brings me vegtables. That's why I love Ukraine.

We, the Peace Corps Volunteers in the Transcarpathian Regions, are trying to organize a clothing drive to help the villagers most affected by the flooding. The Ukrainian aid programs are slow and of poor quality, and we thought that we could provide much needed things that we take for granted in the US. What is most needed here is warm clothes, boots, and household items like blankets and sheets. Winter is definitely here, and we have a couple inches of snow on the gound - It's cold!!

I have seen the effects of what Americans can do in terms of helping after the success of the Velykyi Bereznyi baseball league (the field is under water now, so no baseball for the winter). I have never before seen such great expressions on kids faces. We will continue the season next summer.

If you or your organizations could manage to send anything, the people of the region would be very grateful. Please let me know if anything could be done.

My address is: Ephraim Zimmerman
54 Shevchenka Street
Velykyi Bereznyi
Zakarpatska Oblast
295050 Ukraine

Take Care, Ephraim