As part of project WINDOW, BRDA Foundation is collecting recycled windows and shipping them to non-profit organizations in Ukraine working on rebuilding bombed homes.

After Russian attacks on Ukranian homes and builidings, the first thing to go are windows. Shattered glass and broken windows mean no thermal isolation – the temperatures already dropped and autumn is upon us, we all feel it. It means wet, humid rooms and lack of security. Saran wrap cannot replace glass. That’s why we are effectively helping those, who need support in the form of building materials, in order to live in a safe home.

You can read more about the scale and consequences of the window-glass issue (and our small attempt to help!) in The New York Times.

Together with the Ukranian Metalab Foundation, District #1 Foundation, Building Ukraine Together and several other Ukranian initiatives, we launched the Ukranian side of the project in Kyiv. From the District #1’s storage in the capital, windows will be distributed in the Kyiv and Chernihiv oblasts, as well as in Ivano-Frankivsk. The District #1 team helps people repair their homes, they are also currently working on a kindergarden and high school building. Co-Haty (Metalab’s project) are changing empty buildings into housing units and are building prefabs in the region. Repair Together is renovating houses in Chernihiv, Brave to Rebuild is doing that in Bucha and Irpin. All our partners agree without hesitance: windows are the resource they need the most. 

That’s why we’re gathering windows, simple as that. We are collecting them from private owners and producers. A window which has a tiny defect is impossible to sell, but still perfectly fine to use. All this is done in the spirit of circular economy and recuperating quality building materials. Reused windows are a valuable resource, which will enable IDPs and homeowners return to their houses. How great is that?

20.09, STAGE 1: IN TWO MONTHS WE MANAGED TO SEND 628 WINDOWS TO KYIV, WHICH WERE ALREADY ENTIRELY DISTRIBUTED AMONG THOSE IN NEED!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 

This, however, is just the beginning! We are starting phase two of the project, gathering more windows than last year, until August at least. We wish to continue for as long, as war continues, and as long as we have the resources to help. WINDOW 2.0 BEGINS NOW!

If you wish to support the project, contact us at okno@fundacjabrda.org or donate in order to facilitate further transport to Ukraine at https://pomagam.pl/projektokno. You can also follow the team’s progress on Instagram, at @fundacjaBRDA.

The project is carried out thanks to our partnership with Dom Odbudowy Ukrainy, an initiative of the City of Warsaw.