Themes by tag: reconstruction

Larysa is a graduate in law originally from Kherson. She learned about the full-scale invasion of Russia when traveling in Mexico. She immediately started looking for ways to return home. Larysa managed to get to Ukraine just in the days of the Russian occupation of Kherson. In May 2022, she traveled to the Russian-held city and took her friends, and those willing to leave for the territory controlled by Ukraine.

In the Kyiv region, Larysa joined the volunteer movement and dismantled the rubble of buildings destroyed by the war. She lived with the idea of a similar reconstruction project to be implemented in her hometown. So, after Ukraine regained control of Kherson on November 11, 2022, Larysa returned home and became the coordinator of the Dobrobat volunteer movement in the region. Larysa and her team cleared rubble and rebuilt homes. Local volunteers call Larysa “mom” for her dedication and care for people.

Journalists are welcome to talk to Larysa both offline and online.

For reference: November 11, 2023, marks the one-year anniversary of retaking Kherson. Also, during last year’s counteroffensive in southern Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated some districts of the Kherson region and part of the Mykolaiv region on the right bank of the Dnipro River.

• reconstruction
• volunteers
• women
• Kherson

Stefan came to Ukraine from Finland. He is an entrepreneur consulting asset and fund management companies and a fund management director, previously working in Luxembourg. He attained education in accounting and law. 

The foreigner decided to help Ukrainians and joined the Brave to Rebuild project volunteers in early October. He dismantled the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Kyiv region. In addition, the volunteer helped make concrete for masons and dug a trench for a water supply system.

The man believes that the war in Ukraine is highly illustrative of the battle between good and evil that a person can witness nowadays.

Journalists are welcome to talk to Stefan during his volunteer work in the Kyiv region.

• reconstruction
• volunteers
• Kyiv

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Olena Yuzvak has been under occupation. Despite the Russians taking over Hostomel, the doctor stayed and continued to work and help people. Olena distributed medicine and took care of the wounded until the occupiers took her prisoner. The doctor was imprisoned for a day, and 10 days later, the Ukrainian forces retake control of Hostomel. Olena immediately went back to work and tackled to restore the medical facilities she managed. One of them was located in the village of Moshchun in the Kyiv Oblast and was destroyed by a direct shell hit. Thanks to the support of international funds, Olena managed to build a new Health Center and turn it to be an energy-independent Point of Invincibility. Now the doctor continues to work toward the restoration of medical facilities. 

• doctors
• occupation
• prisoners
• reconstruction
• women
• Kyiv

On October 21, Dobrobat volunteers will clean up a kindergarten damaged in a helicopter crash in Brovary in Kyiv Oblast from rubbles. 

January 18, 2023 helicopter crash killed 14 people: the aircraft crew and all passengers, as well as a child and adult civilians at the crash site. The leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who were on board: Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, State Secretary of the Ministry Yurii Lubkovych, and First Deputy Minister Yevhen Yenin were among the onboard victims. 25 people were injured (including 11 children).

For reference: Dobrobat is a volunteer building division assisting victims in the urgent restoration of housing and social infrastructure in the de-occupied territories.

• casualties
• dead
• reconstruction
• volunteers
• Kyiv

On October 23, a sports ground and a rehabilitation ward will be opened at the Kyiv Regional Mental Health Center. The occupiers seized the center at the beginning of the full-blown war. Russian soldiers stole valuable equipment and severely damaged the Center while living in the facility. In particular, the windows and doors were smashed. After the de-occupation, the medical center reconstruction began. 

The philanthropists who contributed to the restoration of the Center, as well as the first captain of the Ukrainian national team at the Invictus Games, champion of the Games, commander Oleksandr Pysarenko (to train patients exercises on the playground) will attend the new sports ground opening. 

Journalists will also be able to interview the institution’s management and talk to doctors and patients as far as possible. 

For reference: The Kyiv Regional Mental Health Center is a healthcare institution providing qualified inpatient physical health assessment, treatment, and social and labor rehabilitation for patients with mental disorders.

• casualties
• doctors
• reconstruction
• volunteers
• Kyiv

A “Hobbit house” shelter was constructed on the territory of a primary school in Hostomel. A building resembles a Hobbit house (the Hobbits are one of the central characters in the Lord of the Rings series). The Gurtum Charity Foundation acted as the project implementer, and the diaspora of Ukrainians in Japan (Kraiany NGO) took over full funding for the construction. Later, other philanthropists joined them.

The shelter’s fairy-tale-like look aims to minimize stress for the children. Since safety standards prohibit any decorations, such as decorative beams or a fireplace, inside the premises, the walls were decorated with thematic drawings: books, a fireplace, and a Hobbit hat. The shelter can accommodate 55 people.

• children
• reconstruction

Richard and David from the United States and Michelle from the Netherlands came to Ukraine to rebuild dwellings destroyed by the occupiers. The men volunteered to dismantle rubbles in the Kyiv region settlements (Bucha, Irpin). They prepared food for the wounded in Kharkiv. They restored houses in the Chernihiv region. Thanks to the Dobrobat volunteer building division, the foreign volunteers became friends. Three comrades even filmed and published videos of their volunteer activities and traveling around Ukraine.

Currently, the volunteers are making their contribution in different parts of Ukraine and are ready to talk to the media by prior arrangement.

• reconstruction
• volunteers

Starting October 14, short-term reconstruction actions will begin in Kherson Oblast by the NGO Building Ukraine Together (BUR), which has announced the launch of the rebuilding initiative in southern Ukraine. BUR South is a volunteer construction activity in the communities of Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts to restore hospitals, village councils, community centers, and private homes before winter.

The main goal is to involve residents in the restoration of infrastructure and private homes damaged by Russian shelling and to unite the community. It also aims to engage Ukrainian youth in volunteering.

BUR cooperates with three rural communities where critical social infrastructure was destroyed during the full-scale invasion.

For reference: Building Ukraine Together is an all-Ukrainian non-governmental organization that has been engaging young people in volunteering and working with communities and activists to implement socially important projects for 9 years. BUR welcomes volunteers to join restoration events and week-long BUrcamps to help communities. 

• reconstruction
• volunteers
• Kherson
• Mykolaiv

On October 7, a school reconstructed by the Brave to Rebuild project volunteers to get running in the Chernihiv region. The building suffered from a full-scale Russian invasion. 

The school is housed in the Mazanka Ukrainian traditional hut built in 1923 is the great thing about this particular school. Among other things, the volunteers rebuilt the walls using authentic technology: they kneaded sand and clay with straw with their feet in a specially prepared container. The resulting mass was beaten to create the right consistency. The local community was also involved in the work. 

The roof and windows were replaced, and a ramp was installed. And artists painted a mural with traditional Ukrainian ornaments on the school.

Prior accreditation is required.

• children
• reconstruction
• Chernihiv

The government project “Recovery Army” is already working in Ukraine. It involves unemployed Ukrainians in community service. As of September 18, more than 50,000 people have joined the initiative. People get paid for the work they do.

Kharkiv oblast currently ranks the first in terms of attracting the unemployed to the “Recovery Army” (more than 10,000 people, about 1,000 of whom are IDPs). Kyiv oblast holds the fourth place, after Poltava and Donetsk regions. In particular, the participants from Kyiv region are put to work weaving camouflage nets, improving city spaces, sewing clothes or making dry rations for defenders, setting up shelters, etc.

Journalists are welcome to take a look at how the project is being implemented in Kharkiv or Kyiv regions. They can also get a comment from the authorities on this topic.

• reconstruction
• Kharkiv
• Kyiv