"Workshop on Wheels" initiative brings home repair assistance to Ukraine's most vulnerable families
"Workshop on Wheels" initiative brings home repair assistance to Ukraine's most vulnerable families
More than 2,600 people whose homes were damaged by the full-scale war have received support through the "Workshop on Wheels" initiative implemented by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, together with its NGO partner Angels of Salvation. By combining the provision of construction materials with skilled mobile repair teams and technical expertise, the initiative has enabled some of the most vulnerable families to remain in their homes and restore their living conditions.
Following a successful pilot in Kharkiv region in 2024, the initiative has expanded to Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, where communities continue to face widespread destruction caused by the Russian offensive. Currently, 13 mobile repair teams operate across these six regions, providing assistance to families whose homes have been damaged by shelling and aerial attacks.
Since 2024, the teams have repaired more than 1,300 houses, replaced over 3,000 damaged windows and restored more than 55,000 square metres of roofing, helping families remain in their communities.
The "Workshop on Wheels" initiative was developed to address a critical gap in the provision of house repair assistance. When people are provided with construction materials, some families lack the tools, technical knowledge or physical capacity to carry out repairs themselves. Older people and people with disabilities have been at the centre of the initiative, accounting for more than 1,300 recipients of assistance - half of all people supported the project. Many would have been unable to carry out repairs independently due to physical, financial or other vulnerabilities. For them, assistance has often meant the difference between remaining in their homes or being forced to leave because their houses were no longer habitable.
"For many older people and people with disabilities, receiving construction materials alone is simply not enough. They need practical support to make their homes livable again. Through the 'Workshop on Wheels' initiative, we are bringing skilled repair teams directly to people who would otherwise be unable to restore their homes. Every repaired roof and every replaced window help families stay where they belong, preserving their connection to their community and taking an important step towards recovery," said Bernadette Castel Hollingsworth, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine.
Overall, since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, UNHCR and its NGO partners have repaired over 60,000 war-damaged homes across Ukraine, with support from donors, including the European Union, Germany, Japan, Norway and the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF). This programme is implemented using various modalities, such as repairs carried out by local contractors, the provision of construction materials for homeowners able to undertake repairs themselves, cash assistance to purchase construction materials, and the "Workshop on Wheels" initiative for households requiring technical and hands-on support.
As aerial attacks across Ukraine have intensified in recent months, UNHCR also remains the largest humanitarian provider of emergency shelter materials in the country, working closely with national, regional and local authorities to identify urgent needs. Since the start of the full-scale war, UNHCR has supported over 650,000 people with this assistance in the aftermath of airstrikes and artillery shelling, enabling families to carry out immediate repairs and protect their homes from harsh weather conditions.