Daniel Poludyonnyi, head of N-iX Game & VR Studio, never thought his Ukrainian game development company would become a place where his developers would actually live. But that is what happened with the company’s offices in Kyiv and Lviv during the Russian invasion of the country.
“Everybody who comes to Lviv and doesn’t have a place to stay can stay in our office. We have adapted our office to like a shelter with places to sleep. Or there is a well-equipped kitchen, a bathroom, and so on. People can hang around there while they find housing.”
“Software development and game development is a very big part of the Ukrainian economy. Right now, many people have been dislocated and are losing the jobs that were tied to where they were living. Our economy is suffering because of that. The software industry can help us provide. If we can send a message, we are safe and alive and working, that is helpful.”
The team managed to evacuate people from hot combat regions such as Kharkiv, which is being heavily shelled, and a handful of workers or their families chose to stay in Kyiv. Poludyonny’s parents, for instance, said they would not leave. One employee joined the military as he was drafted.
Read more via VentureBeat
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Come Back Alive is one of the largest charitable foundations that supports Ukrainian soldiers, founded by the IT specialist Vitaliy Deynega. The organization collected more than 210 million UAH (more than $7M) in 2014. According to Na chasi, the Patreon page Come Back Alive is in the top ten projects by the number of financial donations.
There are several other organizations to support:
- Army SOS, which develops drones;
- Everybody Can, an organization that supports internally displaced people;
- Help on the Ministry of Defense website.
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