IOM Completes Housing Repairs for IDPs from Mariupol in Dnipro

Dnipro, Ukraine – Renovation work at a dormitory in Dnipro is underway from morning until night. Outside, workers unload freshly delivered building materials, while inside, electricians work on panels by flashlight. The sound of spatulas scraping the walls signals the final stages of renovation works. 

Amid the construction, a few families visit to see what will soon be their new home. Among them are Olena and her daughter Yevheniia, who moved to Dnipro from Mariupol more than two years ago when the full-scale Russian invasion began.  

“When we left, we had been living in a bomb shelter for some time at that point. My husband somehow fixed a radio from whatever we had, and that was our only link to the outside world. Thanks to it, we managed to leave in March 2022,” Olena recalls. Even now, two and a half years later, it’s still hard for her to talk about. 

Yevheniia, an aspiring art student, started painting a portrait on the cold floor during her last days in Mariupol. 

“It was a portrait of a woman in medieval clothing, and the look on her face... words can’t describe it—such deep sadness and pain. That must have been how Zhenia [ed. diminutive of Yevheniia] was feeling at the time,” says Olena. “Later, we found out our apartment had burned down, and that painting was lost with it. There's a kind of symbolism in that.” 

Yevheniia’s art school that she attended before the war was across from the Mariupol Drama Theater, which was destroyed by a Russian airstrike in March 2022. 

"The Mariupol authorities estimate that around 10,000 displaced people from Mariupol are registered in Dnipro, with roughly the same number unregistered," says IOM Senior Project Assistant Yurii Vorobyov. Mariupol residents, like other internally displaced people, face multiple challenges, the biggest being housing. 

Olena says their friends helped them find a place to live, but it doesn’t compare to having their own home. “A rented apartment doesn’t feel yours. We’re always limited when it comes to comfort. Out of five people, three of us sleep on the same couch,” she says. 

Many people from Mariupol used to own their homes, but after moving here, they were forced to rent. Viktor and Tetiana, along with their son Artem, also had to flee Mariupol two and a half years ago. They settled in Kamianka, 40 minutes from Dnipro. In the first months after the full-scale invasion, it was very hard to find housing in Dnipro and the region, with long lines of people waiting to rent, the couple recalls. As a result, they had to take the first apartment they saw. Later, they began to notice its flaws, which weren’t obvious at first. 

Renting an apartment has increased the financial strain on their family, consuming up to half of their monthly income. “I haven’t bought a new winter jacket in three years,” says Viktor. “I can only afford to buy new clothes for my son regularly because he’s growing so fast.” This is further complicated by a drop in income, as Viktor used to work at Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, where wages were higher than at the steel plant in Kamianka where he works now. 

Another challenge for displaced people is in the lost social connections. Tetiana, a schoolteacher, recalls: “In my hometown, I had my coworkers. I was known, loved, and respected, not just by my colleagues but also by the parents of the children I taught. In a new place, you have to start from scratch, prove your professionalism, and try to build new connections.” 

People also left behind homes where they had lived for years, leaving behind their treasured belongings. Many had little time to pack, often forgetting important items and documents. Oksana, who fled Mariupol with her two children, says she left her laptop behind. “It had all the videos and photos of my children. As a mother, those memories are priceless to me.” 

In Dnipro, Mariupol residents are settling in and seeking comfortable places to spend their time. 

“We often go to the river, and out of habit from Mariupol, we always say we’re going to the sea. My daughter’s friends keep correcting her, ‘Arina, there’s no sea here!’” Oksana says. 

All of these families are awaiting the completion of IOM’s renovation work at the Dnipro Technological University dormitory, funded by the Government of France, with additional support from the Government of Liechtenstein, USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, APAMAN, a Japanese company, and the Property Business Network Association, a Japanese business association. The renovations will provide families with studio apartments, each equipped with a kitchen and private bathroom. Around 200 families will live in these apartments, helping to address some of the most urgent challenges faced by displaced people.