On the outskirts of the Ukrainian village stands the remains of a small school that was damaged in the early weeks of the Russian invasion.
A broken window in the school gives a glimpse of an abandoned classroom that is unlikely to meet students soon. It is just one of many buildings in Yahidne that were destroyed in the war.
However, this village and other villages are gradually revived months after the Russian troops withdrew from the northern region of Chernihiv. Now people are repairing their homes and the sound of construction tools fills the air. Volunteers from all over Ukraine and other countries are coming to help because there is so much to do before the next winter approaches.
Some workers are copywriters and cameramen repairing the roof of an apartment in front of the school for several days in the scorching sun.
Denys Ovcharenko (31 years old) and Denys Huschyk (43 years old) are from the capital Kieu. They participated in a volunteer building organization called Dobro Bat, a name that combines "Dobro" or the "Bat" of the battalion with kindness.
A man and 22 other volunteers are helping his compatriots return home as soon as possible.
"We are working here while the men are guarding us," Hasik said, referring to the front line army.
No one in the village yet has plans to rebuild the school used by the Russians as a base. Villagers prefer not to mention the place at all.
Most of Yahidne's inhabitants (about 400) are housed in the school basement 24 hours a day as human shields to protect them from Ukrainian attacks. , Spent a month. army.
Only occasionally did Russian troops allow villagers to climb upstairs into the garden. But that wasn't enough. Ten people died in a dark and crowded basement. Survivors blame the lack of fresh air.
The Russians left the village at the end of March.
The Dobrobat Group plans to repair the roofs of 21 homes in the coming weeks. Volunteers include teachers, athletes and programmers. About 80% of them have no construction experience.
Yahidne is just one of the villages in northern Ukraine that suffered from the invasion of Russia. And Dobrobat is just one of the responding groups, sometimes attracting volunteers from outside Ukraine.
The Czech father and son have decided to spend their annual family trip in Ukraine this year. Michal and Daniel Kahlle meet only a few weeks each summer because their son is studying in the United States.
"We wanted to do something meaningful, not just tourists," Daniel said. Many of the buildings there were destroyed or damaged in the first few weeks of the war.
She said, "It's a long game. You can't pause. Live, sit at home and wait for the end of the war."
Many Ukrainians volunteer because they want to help. But that's not the only reason Julia Capstienko comes to the fire department every morning to putty the walls. At the end of April, a young woman left Mariupol after spending two months in a besieged port city.
"I saw a corpse and a burnt house, but when I look at a normal house, I automatically imagine what happens after the rocket hits," she said. "I can't get this out of my head, but at the same time I try not to get caught up in the past, so it's important to do something responsibly."
The 23-year-old is from eastern Donetsk. I'm from Horlivka. Her first experience of armed occupation was in 2014. After that, she cried for three years and couldn't stand the loss of her hometown.
This time she chose another strategy.
"I now know that you need to do something," Capstienko said. "I don't care what to rebuild. The main thing is that it is in Ukraine."
