Olena Chernovolova left a successful legal career behind when Russia’s invasion transformed Ukraine in 2022. Today, from Monaco, she runs the Dopomogator Foundation, a charity that has already delivered 26 advanced bionic prosthetics to Ukrainian veterans and civilians. 

Born in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Olena studied law in Kyiv, built a decade long career as a private notary and spent years quietly supporting other charities. Then in 2017 she decided to establish her own, and named it ‘Dopomogator’: Ukrainian for ‘someone who helps’.

The foundation’s early work focused on low-income families, elderly people, and children in residential homes. Then, February 2022 arrived, and everything changed.

“Everything changes, for everyone,” Olena tells Monaco Life. She closed her notary office, left Ukraine with her children, and devoted herself entirely to the foundations work.

The meeting that changed everything

In 2023, Olena met a man with an idea to manufacture bionic hands in Ukraine, for Ukrainians, at a fraction of the international price. The meeting was, in her words, entirely by chance. The result was ‘Regenerate Ukrainians’, a joint initiative between Dopomogator and Ukrainian company Allbionics, which uses cutting-edge 3D CAD design and 3D printing to produce prosthetics domestically.

While a bionic hand on the international market costs around $15,000 and can take more than two months to produce, Allbionics manufactures prosthetics for as little as $8,500, with components produced in as little as three days. The full fitting process, involving multiple sessions with the recipient, is completed within two to three months.

Twenty six hands, twenty six stories

To date, Dopomogator has delivered 26 bionic upper-limb prosthetics. Behind each number is a real person. There is Arsen, who now rides horses using his bionic hand. There is Andrii, a father of three children and a war veteran, who sustained a severe injury and lost his arm during military service, who now cooks traditional Ukrainian borscht with ease, washes the car, and plays board games with his family. There is also Daria, a doctor and young mother from Kherson, who wears her prosthetics to work at a medical centre and is now able to push her child’s stroller.

But the story that moves Chernovolova most is that of a recipient with a high amputation above the elbow, one of the most technically demanding fits. “He wrote a letter with his bionic hands,” she said, her voice cracking. “It was his dream to do it, and he did. We said: we need this result for every person with a high amputation. It shows that impossible things are possible.”

A new ally in Monaco

It was in Monaco that Chernovolova met Alexandre Caracchini — the Principality’s newly appointed Honorary Consul of Ukraine.

Alexandre, also present in the interview, adds: “She is genuine and authentic. She’s always trying to help and happy to do whatever is needed. She deserves more recognition in Monaco.”

For Caracchini, whose own work is focused on reconstruction and ensuring Monaco does not forget the realities unfolding in Ukraine, Dopomogator’s mission resonates deeply.

Unbroken women, unbroken Ukraine

When asked what keeps her going after eight years of charity work, Chernovolova gives an unexpected answer. It’s not the recipients, not the results, but her team.

She tells us the story of Olga, her most trusted collegue, whose apartment building was struck by a missile last summer, with half the building left in ruins. “Thank God she’s alive,” Chernovolova says. “And do you know what she did the next day? She started collecting electric kettles for the elderly people in her neighbourhood who had no gas, no way to cook.” She pauses. “These people are unbroken. With volunteers like this, I think Ukraine is okay.”

Her next ambition is even broader: to make the project, and the culture of inclusivity it carries, known beyond Ukraine.

How to help

Dopomogator is currently seeking donations. Each bionic prosthetic costs from $8,500, with the average around $10,000 per limb. Those wishing to contribute or learn more can contact the foundation at info@dopomogator.org or visit dopomogator.org.

See also: 

Interview: Monaco’s new Honorary Consul of Ukraine Alexandre Caracchini

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Main photo of Olena Chernovolova and Alexandre Caracchini provided.