‘Our task is not just to restore walls and ceilings’

As part of the DECIDE: VIDBUDOVA initiative, the shelter at Chernihiv School No. 19 was renovated. It was this very shelter that saved the lives of more than 500 people during the shelling of the city in March 2022.

Shelter area — 238 m².

Budget — over UAH 4 million.

These funds were used to renovate the shelter spaces, install two lifts for disabled people, and equip three large classrooms, a psychological relaxation room and inclusive changing rooms. They were also used to purchase tablets, computers and new furniture.

‘It is important for us to encourage people to return to the city. One of the main factors is providing quality education for their children. They need to see that Chernihiv has a future and opportunities for development. Given the Chernihiv urban community’s limited budget, we are grateful for every opportunity to enlist partners’ support for this purpose,’ says Viktoriia Pekur, Deputy Mayor of Chernihiv for Executive Authorities.

The DECIDE project awarded the school a mini-grant to implement one of the students' ideas: to make the shelter a place that feels more like 'their own' for the children. First, project experts taught the pupils how to develop and present their own projects. The pupils proposed several ideas, including buying extra furniture, board games, and a water cooler. The idea that won was to create a chill-out zone, for which sofas, tables, and board games were purchased.

Click on the link to read more about the school’s history, team and restoration.

The DECIDE project is implemented by NGO DOCCU and PHZH International Projects in Education with the support of the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine.

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