Such a visual sequence – boarded-up windows – does not surprise anyone in Kharkov now. Restoration of Kharkov: hope is behind boarded-up windows Humanitarian aid
According to the latest data from city authorities, about 160,000 residents of Kharkiv have lost their homes. The city suffered greatly at the very beginning of the Russian invasion and continues to be attacked today. Many people have nowhere to go and nothing to live on – they continue to live in dilapidated apartments, with holes in the walls and windows boarded up with plywood.
The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), together with the Government of Japan, is helping Kharkiv residents restore their homes.
“The housing situation is very difficult”
“The housing situation in Kharkiv is very difficult,” says Mykhailo Turyanitsa, a communications specialist at the Ukrainian office of UNOPS. “The housing stock here is very badly damaged. We have selected neighborhoods where we are rebuilding housing, doing various repairs – mainly replacing windows, doors, restoring walls, and the like. In some places, we have repaired roofs that were damaged by shelling. In total, we have 13 apartment buildings in this project – typical nine-story panel buildings.”
The Kharkiv authorities helped select the buildings for the project. “We trust the local authorities in this, because they are better oriented in the situation, they have all the data on the damage to the city’s housing stock. When selecting the objects, we took into account, of course, the cost of repairs, since a certain budget was allocated for this. As a result, all of our locations are in the north of the city, in the Saltovka district, which is often the target of serious artillery shelling and missile strikes. This district suffered the most in Kharkov and needs support the most,” says Mikhail Turyanitsa.
Local Community Participation
Lyudmila Sidorenko, a local resident and employee of the public organization “Peaceful Sky of Kharkiv,” is one of the key coordinators of the project. She plays an important role in connecting the project team, contractors doing the repairs, and local residents; she organizes access to apartments to replace damaged windows and doors; she searches for homeowners to tell them about UNOPS’s activities and to obtain consent to carry out restoration work inside their apartments – after all, legal consent is required for this, and finding people is not always easy.
“I’ve been through this myself. My apartment was also damaged, and I know very well how people feel. That’s why I try to do everything I can to help them,” says Lyudmila Sidorenko.
“This assistance is incredibly important, because people have started to lose hope. Their homes are their world. They have invested years of their lives in these apartments, and losing them is unthinkable. The knowledge that Japan is providing such support means much more to us here in Kharkiv than words can describe. This is an example worthy of imitation,” the woman believes.
“Lyudmila and her colleagues are the people who interact with residents, they know everything about the problems and experiences of people,” confirms the communications specialist of the UNOPS office. – Involving the local community in such a project is a fairly new scheme of interaction with those who receive our assistance in Ukraine, and it is effective.”
Read also:
Restore hope: UN helps restore housing in war-torn Kharkiv
Improve living conditions
The main goal of the UNOPS project is to give people the opportunity to live in decent conditions again. “We often hear comments – is it worth rebuilding if the war is not over and the shelling of the city continues? But then this question should be asked about any humanitarian aid,” Mykhailo Turyanitsa is convinced. “We support people who have found themselves in a very difficult situation. Warm, comfortable housing is a basic human need. Therefore, we try to provide it despite the fact that the shelling continues. Of course, we understand that the threat exists. But people continue to live in Kharkov, many have no alternative except their apartments. Plus, we do not strive to do, for example, cosmetic repairs to the facades, our goal is not a beautiful appearance. The point is that housing must be technically sound and perform its function – be suitable for normal life. Helping people maintain decent living conditions is our humanitarian mission, because we are talking about human rights.”
Lyudmila and Mikhail Turyanitsa.
Mikhail personally monitored the progress of the project in Kharkov and visited the sites that UNOPS is restoring. According to him, communicating with people is inspiring and gives an understanding that your work is needed. “I met two residents in Kharkov (a married couple, they are pensioners). These people did not leave the city even when there was very heavy shelling. They told me how they hid in the basement of their nine-story building with their neighbors. You need to understand that these basements are technical rooms that are not suitable for people to be there. And so, among the pipes, communications, having laid mattresses on the bare concrete, they stayed there for many months, hiding from the shelling, when the building literally shook above their heads. Their apartment was damaged, but they hoped for the best.”
“People live without sunlight”
“There was another woman. She kindly let us into her apartment to show us the damage. The wall inside (the interior partition) was almost folded in half. Where the window used to be, there was a hole filled with chipboard. In general, this visual sequence – windows covered with boards – does not surprise anyone in Kharkov. You walk down the street and see it everywhere. But to find yourself inside such a room (especially when you understand that people continue to live there) – this makes an indelible impression. People live without sunlight. Therefore, even installing a new window for them means significantly improving their quality of daily life,” says the UNOPS Communications Specialist.
In addition to housing repairs, another UNOPS priority is the restoration of critical services that ensure the operation of schools, hospitals, transport and utilities.
What has been done is a “drop in the bucket”
“What we have done now is a drop in the bucket of what is still needed, although the UN system is doing a lot to support Ukraine. After the war, the needs will increase even more. Therefore, Ukraine should be on the UN’s list of priority countries for many years to come,” summarizes Mykhailo Turyanitsa.