Special Needs in Lviv: Looking after society’s most underprivileged

By Tom McEnaney

Friday 9 January 2026

Vitalik was beyond excited. As soon as he saw the Irish man walk through the gates of Rozdil Friends Home, the eighteen-year-old ran through the heavy snow to shake the visitor’s hand, then clasped it tightly, as if afraid that releasing it might cause the bearded foreigner to disappear. He only let go when his friends insisted it was their turn to greet one of Rozdil’s more regular guests.

The excitement was shared. The boys knew that the man struggling through his greetings in broken Ukrainian had come to bring Santa Claus, as he had the year before, and the year before that. They had written their letters to Santa, and experience had taught them that he delivered.

All who could write, that is.

Rozdil Friends Home is home to almost 100 boys and young men aged 10–36 with intellectual and physical disabilities, including 20 evacuated from the temporarily occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia. Some residents expressed their wishes through drawings. Those with the most significant disabilities relied on carers to explain their requests to Santa on their behalf.

When the Irish visitor first arrived with a group of volunteers and asked what they wanted for Christmas, Vitalik—then sixteen—asked for a doll. The following year, he asked for another doll. It seems he simply likes dolls. This year, his Irish friend brought one from Ireland, choosing the best he could find.

“It’s for me?” Vitalik asked, seeing the doll.

Of course, came the reply. Who else could it be for?

As the founder of Effective Aid Ukraine, I was that Irish visitor. And in an effort to improve the lives of these remarkable boys and young men in a way that is meaningful and sustainable, I had brought far more than Santa.

Effective Aid Ukraine has been refurbishing residential centres for disadvantaged children and adults in Eastern Europe for 28 years. Since the full-scale invasion, our work has focused exclusively on Ukraine. Over that time, we have installed 75 playgrounds and more than 500 libraries in institutions and completed major refurbishments in nine residential homes.

Until 2022, much of our work was based in Belarus. When that country aligned itself with Russia’s aggression, we ceased all operations there. Like many others, we immediately shifted to assisting Ukrainian refugees. We ultimately helped relocate 1,224 Ukrainian women, children, and elderly men from frontline cities and Russian camps to Ireland, and supported their integration once there.

Today, drawing on decades of experience, our focus is firmly on helping Ukrainian regions dismantle Soviet-era institutional care systems and replace them with modern, community-based models for children and adults with disabilities—particularly those with intellectual disabilities. We have signed a formal partnership with the Lviv Regional Military Administration, and our work is guided closely by Governor Maksym Kozytskyi and our Ukrainian project partner, Oleksandra Yanovych.

In December 2024, Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers adopted a new national strategy on deinstitutionalisation. In line with Ukraine’s EU accession commitments, the policy aims to replace institutional care with community-based support systems, enabling people with disabilities to choose where and with whom they live, to participate in community life, and to live free from unnecessary and discriminatory restrictions.

This represents a decisive break with the Soviet model, which treated people with intellectual disabilities as something to be hidden away in remote institutions, provided with only the bare minimum required to exist. The European model is fundamentally different: it is based on dignity, individual rights, and the expectation that people with disabilities can live active, fulfilling lives with the right support.

That transition to independent living lies at the heart of everything we do in Ukraine. Under the leadership of our director, Dr Michael Hall, we advise the Lviv Regional Military Administration on policy reform and have recently agreed to provide the same support to the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Administration.

But our work extends well beyond advice.

Together with our partners, Effective Aid Ukraine is undertaking the comprehensive transformation of Rozdil Friends Home—from a poorly equipped institution where residents largely existed day to day, into a model centre aligned with EU best practice for active and independent living.

We have installed a new greenhouse where residents learn to grow their own food. The Butterfly Play Area is nearing completion: an outdoor space that goes far beyond a conventional playground, incorporating wheelchair-accessible play equipment and outdoor gym facilities designed to promote physical activity, inclusion, and social interaction.

One of our largest current projects is the installation of a new industrial kitchen, equipped with professional-grade equipment supplied from Ireland. This will not simply be a place where meals are prepared. It will be a training space where residents learn to cook, plan meals, and develop practical life skills under professional supervision.

Our most ambitious initiative is still to come. Effective Aid Ukraine has committed to providing five modular homes on the grounds of Rozdil Friends Home. These will allow 20 residents to learn how to live independently in a supported environment—managing daily routines, sharing responsibilities, and preparing for life in the community as appropriate housing and support services become available.

This is a pilot project. If successful, it can be replicated across Ukraine. Ivano-Frankivsk region has already asked us to implement the same model there.

After completing a tour of the site—followed closely by an enthusiastic entourage of residents—I was invited to join one of the older men, Dmytro, for a small party to celebrate his 32nd birthday. As we shared cake, I asked Artem, a young man sitting opposite me, what he had asked Santa for.

Artem was not a Santa enthusiast. He said he could not remember.

Using my limited Ukrainian, I asked him what he would like now.

“Kінець війни,” he replied without hesitation.

The end of the war.

We cannot end the war for the children and adults of Rozdil, or for the thousands of people still living in outdated institutions across Ukraine. But we will not wait for the war to end before acting. We are committed to finding practical, scalable ways to improve lives—now, and for the long term.

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Tom McEnaney is the founder of Effective Aid Ukraine. Those interested in supporting work with children and adults with intellectual disabilities in Ukraine can learn more at effectiveaidukraine.org

Governor Kozytski commented:

“We are grateful to the organisation Effective Aid Ukraine for their trust, consistency and system approach. I am confident that our joint efforts will give an impetus to positive changes in the lives of hundreds of people.”