From June to August, the municipalities of the Chernihiv Oblast continued to receive assistance as part of U-LEAD’s initiative “Strengthening Local Resilience. Support for Emergency Repairs in Municipalities”. These are vehicles and toolkits that help local elf-government bodies recover in the aftermath of Russia’s aggression and restore the infrastructure of municipalities.
A great example is the municipality of Nova Basan. Today they are actively rebuilding what was damaged and destroyed in 2022. Chain stores were damaged, agricultural facilities were destroyed by artillery fire, and many premises of municipal institutions were damaged. So the tool kits and equipment that the municipality received as part of aid packages from U-LEAD came in handy. Kits for emergency repairs, as well as the aid received in 2022, were handed over to a municipal company of the Nova Basan municipality in Novyi Bykiv.
“These kits are, naturally, indispensable. These are generators, and chainsaws, and concrete mixers, and toolkits. We contracted third parties to work with larger facilities. Still, we do a lot of restoration work ourselves, with the help of municipal workers,” said Valerii Mozgovyi, deputy head of the village of Nova Basan.
Repairs are currently ongoing in the cultural centre in the village of Novyi Bykiv, which was damaged by the Russian invasion. A lobby, three offices, and a youth space on the second floor have already been partially completed there. The latter was possible thanks to grants and international technical assistance projects that provided furniture and equipment.
In Staryi Bykiv (one of the villages of the municipality), a municipal company plans to repair a kindergarten. After all, this village has a programme of frame houses for IDPs. There are people, so the kindergarten really needs to be reopened.
“War is both a trial and an opportunity. In Mandarin, both the word ‘crisis’ and the word ‘opportunity’ have the same symbol. Yes, war has many downsides, starting with the fact that there have been casualties in our municipality. It’s tragic and they can never come back... However, thing that have been destroyed and damaged can be rebuilt, and we’re working on it,” said Valerii Mozgovyi.
Before the full-scale invasion, the Nova Basan municipality developed many projects of major repairs of schools, kindergartens and outpatient clinics. During a full-scale invasion, many of them have been damaged. So now these projects have undergone adjustments and have been submitted to the comprehensive recovery programme, as well as to the emergency loan programme for the recovery of Ukraine.
Moreover, the Nova Basan municipality has recently received a new Mercedes Benz Sprinter minibus as part of U-LEAD’s initiative “Strengthening Local Resilience. Support for Emergency Repairs in Municipalities”. The minibus will stay with the village council and be used for the needs of educational, medical and social institutions, as well as in case of emergencies, when a drive is needed on a commission basis.