Livelihoods
Our Projects
Our partners
Why Livelihoods?
Our Livelihoods project helps people to live with dignity.
In the Oleksandrivka region of Eastern Ukraine, we provide households with chickens to keep and vegetable seeds to grow. Tending a garden and caring for their birds gives people a reason to get up each day as well as a source of food and income.
And for those on the margins, we support a “soup kitchen” in one of Ukraine’s most beautiful cities. This meal, given with love and a listening ear, reminds the people who receive it that somebody still cares for them.
We currently support three initiatives:
Seeds of Hope – Chickens4Health – Meal with Love
Seeds of Hope
In Eastern Ukraine, many people have lost their jobs or live on meagre pensions. They would love to grow their own vegetables, but the money required for seeds often goes to more urgent needs, such as medicines or winter heating bills. So the rich, black soil behind their homes lies unused.
Our partner Yevhen Nadiuk saw this need in his rural community of Oleksandrivka. Together with him, we created Seeds of Hope. With our funding, he can buy vegetable seeds locally and distribute them to households in need. But this project is about far more than fresh vegetables during the summer months and jars of pickled produce to get through the winter. It’s about people stepping outside again to care for their land and feeling proud as they plant, tend, and harvest.
Between 2022 and 2025, we provided over 600 seed sets in the Oleksandrivka region. Sadly, the project was put on hold at the end of 2025 due to the advancing frontline. Now we are looking for other ways continue this initiative.
“The people we help gain hope and a reason to live.”
Yevhen Nadiuk
Chickens4Health
Chickens scratching in the yard or wandering around the garden are a familiar sight in rural Ukraine. The birds thrive on corn and kitchen scraps. Many villagers in the Olekesandrivka community on the edge of the Donbas long to buy a few chickens and a cockerel. However, that is simply beyond their means.
Together with our partner Yevhen Nadiuk, we designed the Chickens4Health initiative. Eggs eaten boost people’s physical health. Eggs sold improve their economic health.
Three villages participate. In each one, the village leader chose the participants: people who show initiative and a spark of entrepreneurial spirit. Each participant received 10 chickens and a cockerel, so the birds breed and expand the flock. The village leader keeps track of progress (eggs laid, eaten, or sold) and reports these figures to our partner Yevhen each month. This careful monitoring and the associated encouragement mean the participants stay on track and ensure eggs are produced and sold.
“The chickens give people purpose. They care for the birds and the birds care for them. It’s a beautiful thing to see.”
Yevhen Nadiuk
Meal with love
In the beautiful city of Ivano-Frankivsk in the Carpathian region of Western Ukraine, not everybody has the means to enjoy their surroundings. Older internally displaced people (IDPs) and homeless people struggle to survive, largely forgotten by fellow residents who can afford to make ends meet.
Dima and Oksana Pohorelova are IDPs there. They fled from the Sloviansk region but were fortunate enough to have the skills and network needed to rebuild their lives. They know what it’s like to lose your home and have a real heart for those living on the margins.
Each week, with our support, they prepare a delicious meal for older IDPs and the homeless.
But Dima and Oksana provide more than just food. They listen to people’s stories. They provide practical assistance, such as haircuts or helping people fill out government documents. And when homeless addicts want help, they bring them to a rehab center.
“When we serve these meals, we’re not just giving food—we’re saying, You matter. We see you.” – Dima and Oksana Pohorelova
Share your Drop of Hope today
Over 98% of your donation goes to Ukraine. Our Daily Bread’s only costs are bank charges.
Our partners know the needs of their communities, and with your gift, we can help more Ukrainians to move forward in their lives!
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“When we serve these meals, we’re not just giving food—we’re saying, You matter. We see you.”
