Ukrainians families struggling to cope amidst recession

On the outskirts of Kiev, husband and wife team Andrei and Yulia Burda run the Centre for Speech Development, a non-profit organization they founded for children with special needs.

It's a very modest operation occupying just two small rooms in the corner of a school, and Andrei and Yulia make do with contributions from the 20 families whose children they help. With this, they pay the rent, and buy some basic, inexpensive items to assist them in their work.

At home, they are equally frugal. With their two daughters and Andrei's mother, they rent a small one-bedroom near Kiev's centre. Together, they make plaster of Paris figures and cloth dolls that they sell at a local art fair. Andrei also provides a dog grooming service for Yorkshire terriers.

But for all this penny-pinching, Yulia says they're just getting by.

With the collapse in the value of the national currency, the hryvnia, Yulia says they face tough choices over what to buy, often having to choose between medicine and food.

The difficulties Yulia and her family are experiencing are mirrored across Ukraine, with the economy in the midst of a severe recession.