On June 21 and 22, the veterans’ department of CBA Initiatives Center conducted the first educational workshops titled “How Adaptive Sports Support Recovery” in Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk, respectively. The events focused on veterans’ recovery and the role of adaptive sports in this process. They are part of the “Our Here” project, through which the Center’s team researches and documents recovery environments while promoting the recovery sector, including adaptive sports, across Ukraine.

In Lviv, on June 21, the workshop was held with the support of the Lviv City Council Sports Office, and in Ivano-Frankivsk, on June 22, it was organized in collaboration with the NGO VeteransCivil PETROS. Guests included veterans who were just beginning to explore adaptive sports, as well as those with previous experience. They were joined by representatives of the civil sector, city hospitals, friends, and family.

“We organize these workshops because we genuinely believe in sharing information that can help veterans recover faster and experience adaptive sports firsthand. Developing adaptive sports in Ukraine is also a personal mission for me. I was wounded myself, so I understand what physical and psychological limitations feel like. Many of them were perceived rather than real, yet they slowed my recovery. It is crucial to provide people who have paid a high price defending our country with resources and create conditions where they do not face these limitations, but instead feel empowered. Adaptive sports provide this sense of strength, dignity, and new opportunities,” said Taras Kovalyk, a war-wounded veteran and head of the veterans’ department at CBA Initiatives Center.

Each workshop began with a lecture in which Taras Kovalyk shared his personal experience and spoke about the activities of CBA Initiatives Center. Local mentors also participated: in Lviv, veteran Ihor Halushka, and in Ivano-Frankivsk, veterans Oleksandr Zirko and Yurii Haponchuk.

After the theoretical session, participants had the opportunity to try adaptive sports equipment and get hands-on experience with three sports: wheelchair basketball, boccia, and archery. The CBA Initiatives Center team also introduced participants to local facilities where they could continue training in their regions. All these locations are included on the “Our Here” project map.