Peremoha is the Ukrainian word for Victory.
The Peremoha Mini-Grants program was launched in the summer of 2022 in response to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine. Returned Peace Corps Volunteers can apply together with a Ukrainian partner they worked with in some way during their service. Funding priorities for the program include humanitarian aid to Ukrainian communities, and projects in alignment with sectors previously implemented by Peace Corps Ukraine: community development, youth development, education, and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. We are proud to share with you the stories of the Alliance's Peremoha grantees.
RPCV: Cortney Copeland, Community Development, 2017-2019
Region: Cherkasy Oblast
As Russia continues to attack Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, local businesses and community organizations suffer from disruptive power outages. The World Bank estimates that Ukraine’s energy sector has sustained 12 billion dollars in damage since the escalation of the war in 2022. In fact, the energy minister estimates that 30% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure was hit in a single day in 2022. In April 2024, a Russian attack destroyed one of the largest thermal power plants outside of Kyiv. Although Ukrainians are fighting back by building their own nuclear reactors, continued attacks make it hard for everyday life to continue.
As the war drags on, civilians need power and connectivity to run community projects and work at their jobs to support their families.
Workers and volunteers at nonprofit organization office charge devices with a portable power station
Cortney Copeland (Community Development 2017-2019) and her Ukrainian counterpart, Ivan, used a Peremoha Mini-Grant to purchase a portable power station for the local nonprofit Ivan helps lead. The organization has rented additional rooms in its building to offer space for displaced businesses, remote workers who have fled from other parts of Ukraine, and locals who can no longer safely work at their homes or prior office locations. The nonprofit provides free workshops for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), offers event/meeting space to other NGOs and volunteer groups, and charges an affordable fee for coworking rentals and business relocation and incubation services. They more recently launched wartime safety and first aid trainings for civilians.
Community members learn to use fire extinguishers at a January 2024 training. Fires are a common result of airstrikes,
so attendees were encouraged to keep a working fire extinguisher at home as part of overall emergency planning.
The full $1,500 grant award went toward purchasing the power station, which can charge multiple devices over many hours. Ivan procured it in the winter of 2022-2023. Since then, he reports that the organization has used it regularly, both as a backup during outages and as a portable power source for charging devices during offsite trainings.
When not needed as backup power in the office, the power station is a charging source at outdoor workshops.
Now that his team has had more than a year to use the portable power station, Ivan has this to say:
“In 2023, it saved us during power outages. At the moment, things are not so bad, but the threat is always there and is growing. Massive attacks on the energy system continue - including near our city. It is therefore very important that we have this. It guarantees that we won’t stop our work in emergency situations.”
Ukraine’s civil society is key both to its survival and eventual rebuilding. Thanks to your generous contributions and purchases of Babusya’s Kitchen cookbook, our grants help organizations like Ivan’s continue to operate even when under attack.
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