Last week, the Ukrainian-Swiss Summer School came to an end. This year, it focused on the theme “Resilience Through Collaboration.” The event brought together rehabilitation and education professionals, defenders who have sustained severe injuries, parents of children with disabilities, and everyone working to overcome barriers and build a life of dignity.
TRUE experts actively contributed to the Summer School, leading a series of important workshops and practical sessions. Together with participants, we explored modern approaches to rehabilitation, reintegration, and accessibility; shared real-life patient cases; discussed multidisciplinary approaches to managing back pain; and took part in inclusive physical activity, using seated archery as an example.
“The state provided me with prosthetic limbs worth UAH 400,000. But they’re just sitting at home. That money would have been better spent on a robot vacuum, good kitchen appliances, or adapting my bathroom.”
That’s how veteran Yevhen Kholodnytskyi described his experience of living with an amputation. He lost both arms in the war, but continues to lead a highly active life.
What helps him are simple, seemingly ordinary things — such as a watch that allows him to use cutlery by attaching it to the strap, and even pay by card at the supermarket using the same setup.
Of course, the point is not that prostheses are unnecessary. One of the key takeaways from the discussions was that there is no “magic pill” — and that solutions to complex problems are not always obvious.
As Anastasiia Boichuk, Strategic Lead of the TRUE initiative at the Patients of Ukraine Charitable Foundation, noted, people’s needs must be addressed on an individual basis. There are no one-size-fits-all solutions, and what may seem like the obvious choice can turn out to be completely different from what a particular person or family actually needs.
Yevhen’s story was just one of many powerful stories shared at the Summer School.
The 2026 Summer School is a unique platform that, for the second year in a row, brings together initiatives supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). This year’s event focused on partnership, leadership, and collective action as the foundation for sustainable change in society.
The Ukrainian-Swiss Summer School 2026 “Resilience Through Collaboration” is held with the support of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, with financial support from the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine. In 2026, the Ukrainian-Swiss Summer School is moderated by the Ukrainian-Swiss project “Acting for Health.”
Partners: “Development of Medical Education,” “Mental Health for Ukraine,” “War Trauma Rehabilitation,” World Bank Ukraine, “svoyi. ridni,” the Lviv Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Truskavets City Council.
