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The team sold their own home to build a permanent shelter for animals rescued from the front line. The foundation is poured and the walls are rising. Now the building needs a roof before winter.
Why we are building
For four years the Cherkasy Regional Charity Foundation "Life" has rescued, treated and rehomed cats and dogs that survived the war zones. It did all of this in a run-down rented house. The roof leaked in the autumn rains, and in summer the team cooled the rooms with bottles of frozen water.
When the roof finally needed to be replaced entirely, there was nowhere to move. Families displaced from the front-line regions had rented or bought every available house. So this summer, founder Oksana Savitskaya sold her own apartment to buy land and start building a real, permanent shelter.
What we are building
A rehabilitation center for animals with physical and psychological trauma from combat areas:
- Recovery zones for animals with severe injuries and trauma
- Play and therapy spaces, and a sensory garden (environmental enrichment)
- Secure outdoor "catios" and covered dog enclosures
- Insulation and ventilation with heat recovery, so the animals stay warm and safe through the winter
Progress
- Summer 2026: apartment sold, land bought (video)
- Layout: pegs and strings mark the outline of the building (video)
- Foundation: from deep trenches to a solid concrete monolith (video)
- October 2026: materials delivered, first walls rising block by block (video)
- Next: roof and insulation before the frost
What is still missing: $10,512
Everything from the sale of the apartment is already in the building, and nothing is left. If the building isn't covered before the frost, the open walls will be damaged, and dozens of frontline animals will be left without a safe winter home. The remaining $10,512 pays for:
- Roofing (metal tiles)
- Ceiling framing and timber
- Basalt wool insulation
- A ventilation system with heat recovery
- Floors and floor covering
- Interior doors
- Covered dog enclosures and an outdoor catio
In Ukraine, $10,512 is nearly half a million hryvnias. What costs a cup of coffee in the US buys a sheet of metal roofing in Cherkasy. $15 helps buy a roofing tile or building material, and $50 helps insulate a recovery room for a traumatized dog or cat. Not one cent goes to salaries or administration.
Follow the construction on our YouTube channel: Life Charity.
Photos and videos: Cherkasy Regional Charity Foundation "Life" / Oksana Savitskaya. War destroys. We build.