On July 7, 2023, during a visit to the Chernihiv region, the adviser to the deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Artem Husak, the head of the UST coalition Olena Koltyk, the head of the Chernihiv office of the UST Andriy Kuzhel met with the head of the Chernihiv Region Military Administration Vyacheslav Chaus discussed the first results of the work of the Regional Office for International Cooperation on the reconstruction of Chernhiv region.
“Very positive reviews about the start of the work of the Regional Office in the Chernihiv region. It is clear that the region suffered a lot as a result of military aggression, complex issues, a common border with the enemy… But what was done during 2022 and the year 2023 shows the openness of the regional military administration, the Regional Development Agency, and communities to cooperate with governmental and non-governmental partners.” – said Mr. Husak.
According to Mr. Husak, Regional Offices for International Cooperation have already been established in all regions of Ukraine. Each region will have its own specificity of work, in particular, the most affected areas will focus on recovery.
Vyacheslav Chaus noted that the goal of creating the Regional Office of International Cooperation is permanent systematization and uninterrupted work with all existing and potential partners. “Chernihiv region cooperates with more than 300 donor organizations, development partners, and charitable organizations,” he said.
Ukraine Support Team is also working on the reconstruction of the Chernihiv Region, in particular helping to restore access to education, health care services, housing and communal services, and ensuring stable heat and electricity supply. The head of the UST coalition, Olena Koltyk, noted that the establishment of cooperation between donors, local authorities and civil society is the key to effective reconstruction. “The work of our office is aimed at increasing the capacity of communities. We help communities identify priority needs for reconstruction, find optimal technical solutions, and attract financing,” she added.
As part of the visit, Artem Husak and the Ukraine Support Team also visited the Chernihiv Regional Children’s Hospital, the Lyceum in Mykhailo-Kotsyubinsky, and the village of Yagidne.
With the help of donors, the Chernihiv Regional Children’s Hospital recently received a hybrid solar power station that provides an uninterrupted power supply. However, the hospital’s small patients still do not have a shelter, for which the search for funding is ongoing.
Lyceum in the village of Mykhailo-Kotsiubynske has the status of the hub school, but it was destroyed by a russian missile. The United 24 platform and football players Andriy Shevchenko and Oleksandr Zinchenko, who will play in a charity match in London in August, joined the fundraising for the reconstruction of the lyceum. And while the collection of considerable costs for the reconstruction of the lyceum continues, there is a need to purchase more than 500 tablets to provide students with access to distance education.
The small village of Yagidne in the Chernihiv region, which was occupied by the russians for almost a month, is called by local residents “Chernihivska Bucha”. Here, the invaders also shot unarmed civilians and destroyed their houses. Reconstruction works are currently underway in Yagidne. The village was included in the national experimental project on comprehensive restoration. It is planned to repair 101 private houses and 17 apartment buildings, 2 objects of social infrastructure, and 2 – commercial real estate. Works are divided into several phases. The first has 41 buildings.
The Regional Office for International Cooperation is an initiative of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine, which aims to develop the interaction of local and regional authorities with international partners who seek to cooperate at the level of the region and territorial community.
Фото: СпешиLove
“No one knows what “build back better” is. And we managed to implement it. School No 20 in Chernihiv is such an example, when it is possible to restore it and bring it back to life, class by class, piece by piece. And in my deep conviction, this is an example for others, for business, how you can slowly recover without having millions of dollars”, – Anna Novosad.
On June 6, 2023. Anna Novosad, an expert in education of the UST coalition and the founder of the SavED charitable foundation, presented the restored computer science class at Chernihiv School No. 20. This educational institution is one of 25 in Chernihiv that were destroyed during the blockade of the city in February-March 2022. Two more were completely destroyed. On March 6 of past year, 5 Russian shells hit the territory of school No. 20, one of them hit the sports hall, the computer science class was also destroyed.
Now the computer science class is functioning again. According to Anna Novosad, restoration began in December 2022. IT company SQUAD provided it with equipment, namely 20 modern computers, and furniture. For repairs, money was raised from other donors.
“It may seem like it’s just one class, but in fact it gives hope. This shows that joint efforts can be done and that it is not so expensive,” said Anna Novosad.
The communities of Mykolaiv region received 3 specialized vehicles for technical inspection of buildings and for the needs of social services. The vehicles s were provided by the United Nations Development Program in Ukraine and the Government of Canada, the head of the Mykolayiv UST office, Dmytro Tarasenko, were coordinating the assistance.
“The obtained equipment will allow more effective assistance to the population and will speed up the recovery of the affected communities of the region,” notes the head of Mykolaiv Region Military Administration Vitaly Kim.
Special vehicles were transferred:
- A car for a mobile group for technical inspection of buildings and structures, which enables an expert assessment of the scale of damaged or destroyed objects, was handed over to the Directorate for Capital Construction and Reconstruction of the Mykolaiv Regional Council;
- The Mykolayiv Regional Center of Social Services received the “Social Services to Communities” car, which will help the expert team provide social and psychological assistance in the territories affected by the war;
- The “Mobile Social Services” vehicle, which has special equipment for providing social services to the less mobile population and residents of remote areas, was handed over to the needs of the Ascension Center for the provision of social services.
- 1
- 2
