The implementation of the Home for Rescued Animals request, which the Hello, Ukraine team worked on in October and November 2024, became the first story of IT assistance within the Victory Code project. The website for the organisation was developed by UI/UX designer Maria Kolomiitseva with the support of Hello, Ukraine founder Oleh Meleshko, who is also the CEO of IT company Incode Group.

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How the shelter rescues animals

Since 2018, the Home for Rescued Animals charity foundation has been rescuing animals that have suffered due to human neglect or cruelty. Before the full-scale invasion, their activities focused on the rehabilitation of wild animals, which, after recovery, were released into the wild.

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However, the large-scale war has brought significant changes to the work. Since February 2022, the Home for Rescued Animals has been a shelter for pets — dogs, cats, rodents and other animals that have lost their homes and families. The shelter's team evacuated animals from Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv regions, as well as from the cities of Irpin and Bucha. Thus, the shelter became a refuge for animals from the war zone and frontline areas.

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Technology for good

UI/UX designer Maria shared that the Home for Rescued Animals urgently needed a website:

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“As a designer, I volunteered to help. During the discussions, we came to the conclusion that the best solution would be to build a website on the Webflow platform rather than write code from scratch. Since I didn't have much experience with Webflow, we decided to contact Hello, Ukraine for advice.”

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As part of the Victory Code project, Oleh gave Maria two consultations: 

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• The first one was on the basics of working with Webflow, providing step-by-step instructions on how to create a website on this platform.
• The second was on payment systems that would suit the organisation's needs.

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Maria recalled how the online meetings went:

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“During the first consultation, Oleh explained to me the basics of working with Webflow and told me about the key steps of creating a website. Thanks to this, I was able to build the main part of the site on my own. Later, I needed to connect the payment system, and I asked for help again. We arranged an additional meeting, which was also attended by a representative of the shelter. Oleh explained in detail about different payment systems, their operation and advantages. We decided on a payment system, and in one evening, Oleh successfully set everything up.”

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In addition to consulting and connecting the payment system, Oleh also set up a new domain for the website, said Maria:

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“At the final stage of work on the website, we were helped with the domain connection, which was the final touch in the creation of the project. Today, we have a ready-made, fully functional website that will soon become part of a larger collaboration. This will potentially bring significant financial assistance to the animals in the shelter. Working with Hello, Ukraine was great! No unnecessary chatter, everything was clear, fast and professional — just as it should be. The Victory Code project is a really important cause that can save lives, without exaggeration.”