Olha Hanachevska, Deputy Head of the Novyi Rozdil municipality, said that as a result of an air strike that damaged critical infrastructure, the residents were left without electricity and, therefore, without running water and other important services.
“The received generators and water containers have been of great use to us. We used the generators in mobile charging stations that were set up in our town and other town and villages, allowing people to charge their phones and other gadgets. Several stations of this kind operated in the city to make it as convenient as possible for people,” said Ms Hanachevska.
The municipality allocated water containers to public facilities. Sleeping bags and other items provided to the municipality were donated for the needs of internally displaced persons living in hostels and private houses. There are currently three shelters operating in the Novyi Rozdil municipality on the basis of dormitories of educational institutions.
“We had no electricity for more than two days, everything was discharged, and mobile stations became the only possibility to charge a phone or laptop. Thanks to this, all of us were able to stay in touch with our relatives and were able to solve work issues,” said Volodymyr Kryzhanivskyi, a resident of the Novyi Rozdil municipality.
Mobile charging stations for gadgets will be set up in all other towns and villages as well. The Novyi Rozdil municipality is now actively working on establishing facilities where people can warm up, which will also be powered by generators.
“We have a lot of critical infrastructure facilities, and we have already experienced the war, the air strikes. Since many people remain without electricity, phone signal, running water, this help from U-LEAD is essential. Thank you for the generators and other equipment. This is very important for us,”, said Ms Hanachevska.
According to Halyna Khrushchak, Head of the Regional Office of U-LEAD in the Lviv oblast, when the Programme provided emergency aid to the municipalities of Ukraine in the first month of the war, municipalities from the western regions received funds that helped accommodate a large number of internally displaced people.
“We didn’t anticipate that these things would help municipalities overcome challenges such as direct destruction of infrastructure and its consequences. It is great that thanks to this equipment, which was already in place, people were able to meet their primary needs during power outages,” the expert said.