The full-scale Russian invasion has posed many new challenges to Ukrainian communities. To ensure the implementation of development projects and sustainable recovery, communities must seek and attract new funding sources. Since the beginning of the war, the Lubny community in Poltava Oblast has focused on attracting additional investment from the state budget and international sources.
“Even in severe challenges, such as epidemics, emergencies, or war, life does not stop. The community leadership must use all resources and opportunities to make its residents and guests feel confident and secure. That's why we are looking for additional opportunities for community development: we write projects, participate in competitions and grants, and engage foreign sister cities,” explains Oleksandr Hrytsayenko, head of the Lubny community.
Today, due to the active work of the Lubny City Council's executive committee in attracting additional investments from the state budget and international organizations, the community has managed to accumulate about UAH 250 million.
“It does not matter how many people work in the team; the most important thing is cohesion and focus on results,” emphasizes Olena Tsokh-Karunska, head of the Lubny community's Economic Development and Trade Department.
This department is responsible for writing and submitting grant applications.
Experts from the USAID HOVERLA Activity conducted a series of training sessions on project management and grant writing for local government representatives. In the words of Olena Tsokh-Karunska, “gaining knowledge helped my department to become more efficient.”
Recently, the Lubny community won the Ukraine Recovery Program competition with a project to build a preschool for children with musculoskeletal and speech disorders worth more than UAH 154 million. Under the Emergency Credit Program for the Recovery of Ukraine, the community will reconstruct one of its main schools at a total cost of more than UAH 128 million. Thus, the community has attracted about 80 percent of the funding for these projects from the state budget.
Lubny has also raised considerable funds from international partners. As part of the GIZ project “Promotion of Energy Efficiency and Implementation of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive in Ukraine,” the community received more than UAH 4 million to reconstruct the Shemet Brothers Academic Lyceum.
“Thanks to the grants, we have completed the reconstruction of the heating and ventilation system and equipped our institution kitchen and dining room. Now, our students are warm and comfortable. This is very gratifying because children are our greatest treasures,” says Natalia Brekalo, the lyceum's principal.
Participating in the Ukrainian-Swiss project “Acting for Health” resulted in the community receiving equipment worth more than UAH 800,000.
The reconstruction of the water supply and wastewater treatment system, with the introduction of energy-saving technologies for 2020-2032, is being implemented in cooperation with the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO). The project's total cost is more than UAH 47 million, of which the grant from NEFCO is more than UAH 24 million.
During 2022-2023, the USAID HOVERLA Activity provided Lubny with property and equipment worth more than UAH 9 million, including office equipment, a Starlink Internet terminal, emergency response equipment, kitchen equipment, refrigerators, washers and dryers, portable radios, diesel generators of various capacities, fire extinguishers and firefighter clothing, tents, and a backhoe loader with attachments.
In addition, as part of the cooperation with HOVERLA, the community received equipment worth UAH 1.5 million to improve the landscaping and solid waste collection system and ensure the provision of quality public services.
“Thanks to this cooperation, we have the opportunity to increase our capacity in important areas such as education, healthcare, housing and communal services, and civil defense. I hope that with such strong support, we will realize all our plans and build new strong partnerships,” emphasizes Oleksandr Hrytsayenko.
Effective local financial management is the key to sustainable community development and resilience. Today, having an effective and motivated team of professionals enables communities to provide high-quality services to their residents, even during wartime. That is why HOVERLA recognized the achievements of the Lubny community in raising funds for the budget as the best practice of local financial management.
