Campaign by 
Story
Out of more than 200 veterans who have been through Hopeful Future programme, six have made it this far.
Not because the others weren't remarkable. Because this particular path requires something almost impossible to find in one person: the presence to hold a room full of men who trust no one, and the humility to make that room about them, not you. The authority that comes from having been there — on the front line, under fire — and the softness to sit with someone else's pain without flinching or fixing.
Most people have one or two of these qualities. Our facilitators are learning to hold all of them at once, in a room full of combat veterans who will see through anything false within the first twenty minutes.
Six, out of two hundred. That's who we're building with.
What is Hopeful Future?
Hopeful Future is a peer-support programme for Ukrainian combat veterans — bringing small groups together for three days, led by veteran facilitators who have been through it themselves. People who have been in the same place, holding space for honest conversation.
Many describe it as the first time since leaving service they felt genuinely understood.
[Learn more about the programme at edenaid.org/hopeful-future →]
Walk with him
Becoming a facilitator isn't a course you complete. It's a practice you build.
Group by group, session by session, over months of travel, supervision and hard-won experience. Some work night shifts to fund their studies. Some travel six hours by train to reach a group and six hours back.
They do it because veterans trust them — and because they know, from the inside, what it costs to come home.
We need more of them. And we need to make it possible for the ones we have to keep going.
"I came to the first group reluctantly — a fellow veteran pushed me to go. But something stayed with me. I opened the workbook, thought about it — and realised I wanted to go back. Then I trained, started helping to facilitate, and eventually began leading groups myself. Every group is different, but I see it helping my brothers and sisters in arms — and it helps me too. This programme taught me to dream again and plan for the future. I want others to be able to see that same horizon."
[Read about Hopeful Future facilitators at edenaid.org/long-road →]
Who you're walking with:
Yaroslav · Drohobych
Craftsman and builder from the Carpathian foothills. Served in the infantry, wounded in combat and poisoned by phosphorus. Father of two. Lead facilitator of the programme, he also works in military hospitals supporting veterans in recovery.
Anton M · Lviv
Career soldier from the age of eighteen, nine years as a reconnaissance trooper. Demobilised after a serious wound, 26 surgeries. Worked in addiction therapy, now in the defence industry. A creative soul – paints and makes woodwork.
Anton P · Kam'yanets-Podilsky
Lawyer and construction entrepreneur who left Poland to return to Ukraine and serve. Sapper and drone operator. Father of a one-year-old son; his wife also serves. A man who does not walk past injustice or someone needing help.
Mykhailo · Volodymyr
Entrepreneur before the war. Served in the infantry, was wounded, and returned home with a disability. Founded a veteran NGO and studies for a psychology degree. Father of a daughter he hopes will grow up in a free Ukraine.
Serhiy · Dnipro
A miner from a small town, later worked in logistics, volunteered in 2022. Father of a son and a daughter. Infantry unit commander, five combat wounds. Now captain of a veteran rowing team in Dnipro and veteran community activist.
Arthur · Kropyvnytsky
Sniper and reconnaissance soldier. Served from 2014, fought for Donetsk Airport, fought for Kherson during the full-scale invasion, wounded in 2023. Father of a daughter. Currently studying for a psychology degree.
Your support, specifically:
£70/month — covers a facilitator's travel to reach a group
£180/month — covers monthly training, supervision and assessment
£320/month — covers active programme participation including a modest stipend
... or choose a one-off donation – all of them go towards facilitator development fund, allowing us to provide training, supervision, support and logistics for their journey.
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For monthly sponsors, we pair you personally with one member of our facilitator team — a real person, at a real stage of their journey. A personal introduction, progress updates, and a message when they reach a milestone.
[Read about the Long Road campaign at edenaid.org/long-road →]
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Every meaningful donation will receive SILENCE, VOICED — a photobook produced by the programme, containing real stories, words and pictures shared by our veterans, documenting what happens when they finally have somewhere to speak.
On this long road from pain to helping others...
...walk with him.
Hopeful Future · Eden Aid Charity No. 1206205 · edenaid.org