“We make it possible for families to live in their own homes.” The story of volunteers who bring life back to the de-occupied territories

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In the first days of the full-scale invasion, entrepreneur Andriy Nemyrovsky, together with public figures and businessmen of Lviv Region, launched the charity initiative “Center for Volunteering and Protection” (CVZ) for operational assistance to Ukrainians who suffered as a result of Russian aggression.

Over the course of a year, the Center has grown into one of the largest volunteer hubs in Ukraine, with which international volunteer organizations and foundations cooperate, donor aid comes from different parts of the world.

The first year of operation of the Center for the Prevention of Cruelty to Internally Displaced Persons is a solution to the critical humanitarian needs of the country and internally displaced persons. Today, the Fund pays attention to the development of the “Reconstruction” project, which provides for the restoration of housing, schools, and medical facilities in the de-occupied and front-line territories.

Features of reconstruction

“If today we do not help people returning to their native places to rebuild their homes, tomorrow these villages will be empty,” explains Andrii Nemyrovskyi, head of the Foundation.

During the year, together with volunteers of the Foundation, he visited dozens of communities in the de-occupied and front-line territories of Kherson region, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv region, and Donetsk region.

Independently assessed the needs, got to know community leaders, hatched plans on how to scale up assistance. Some villages in the conquered regions have been destroyed by 90% and there, new construction is clearly needed.

But most of the villages remain where houses need “light” reconstruction (roofs cut by debris, windows and doors knocked out by blast waves) and to which residents are actively returning. Such communities are in critical need of the participation of volunteers, international donors and socially responsible businesses.

CVZ volunteers and the head of the Fund inspecting the state of facilities in the Kherson region

Serhii Hovda, a volunteer of the Center for Reconstruction and Development, head of the “Reconstruction” department, says that after a detailed assessment of the damage in the regions, the fund developed criteria according to which it began to actively involve itself with aid. First of all, this is a matter of security.

The community must be remote from hostilities and with a controlled process of demining the territory. The initiative of the community and residents is also important for the fund.

Priority is given to help for vulnerable groups of the population, those with many children, the disabled, and pensioners.

In order to speed up the reconstruction works, to establish the entire process of delivery of the necessary materials and means, the solution of the carpet method of assistance was crystallized.

In simple words, the Fund began to cover the whole community with help, and not individual houses in different communities.

In total, to date, the Fund has participated in the reconstruction of 257 objects: these are residential buildings, schools, hospitals, boarding schools, gyms. 16 roofs have already been repaired, 437.5 kg of construction mixtures, 1.5 thousand rolls of waterproofing and 459 units of sanitary ware have been purchased and used.

By the end of the year, the “Center for Volunteering and Protection” plans to help restore 500 residential buildings. “We have to help people overwinter.

Let these be small steps to meet the residents today: repair of roofs, floors and walls, electrical wiring, installation of new windows.

However, tomorrow, after the victory, we will be able not to rebuild, but to develop these regions, because it will be for whom!” – this is exactly how Andriy Nemyrovsky directs the activities of the Center today.

Stimulus for the return of families to communities

Today, the statistics of the return of the population to the communities of the de-occupied territories is growing every month. However, there are also new challenges of reconstruction needs. Among them is the critical need to rebuild educational institutions that were purposefully destroyed by the enemy.

During the summer, the school of the Borozen Territorial Community in the Kherson Region was renovated with the help of the Center for Environmental Protection. This institution is designed for more than 300 students.

For nearly three months, reconstruction work continued daily to prevent further damage to the walls and floor due to adverse weather conditions. Today, this object is completed.

Reconstruction of the main institution of comprehensive general secondary education in Borozenska of the village council of the Kherson region

Also, in the summer, the TsVZ began repairing a school in the village of Slabunivka (Izyum district, Kharkiv region), which was hit by an enemy rocket during shelling of the community. The roof has already been completely repaired, repair work is being carried out inside the school, the next stage will be the replacement of the floor.

“This will make it possible to resume education in the primary school, because three schools in the community have been completely destroyed. Today, this educational institution will unite the children of the entire community, as well as their teachers, in education. This is important for the families who have returned.

Over the course of a year, the community grew from 2,000 to almost 6,000 people,” explains Oksana Suprun, head of the Savinsk settlement military administration.

Reconstruction of a school in the village of Slabunivka (Izyum district, Kharkiv region), which was hit by an enemy missile

Andrii Nemyrovskyi, founder of the Center for Volunteerism and Protection, notes: “All our reconstruction assistance, its quality, efficiency is closely related to cooperation with other donor organizations, socially responsible business.

We understand and in practice this is exactly the case, that donor aid works faster and more efficiently. It is often more difficult for people to get state assistance due to the loss of documents or difficulties in going through procedures.

The task of the Central Committee to become the glue in cooperation with other donors, such as the Red Cross and others. Because in this way we will be able to increase the amount of this aid.”

Educational institution of the village Savyntsi, Izyum district, Kharkiv region.

This article was implemented by the “Center for Volunteering and Protection” as part of the “Get Involved” Public Activity Promotion Program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Pact in Ukraine.

The content of this article is the sole responsibility of Pact and its partners and does not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the US government.

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