In Chyhyryn, they are looking for benefactors to help renovate 11 blocks of the economic and legal vocational college. Currently, 40 displaced people live there in addition to students. After the renovation, the dormitory will be able to accommodate another 120 people, Yuriy Polishchuk, the director of the educational institution, told Suspilny. Migrant Nadiya Ustinova recalled that when she moved into the dormitory, there were no shelves or an oven: “We had a small stove with one burner, which we put on the table. And when electric stoves appeared, that’s when I started baking.”
Almost everything in Ms. Nadiya’s room came from benefactors. And she is very grateful for that, she noted, because she moved to Chyhyryn from the Donetsk region in 2022 with almost nothing: “I thought I was going for a month, well, three at most. So I only took a small backpack and a small suitcase. I even left my documents with my husband.”
The Red Cross and the International Refugee Fund helped to equip the hostel for the displaced people in the first days. But most of all, the international organization Sebastopol World Friends from California, said local resident Svitlana Pylypenko. In 2014, she visited there as part of an experience exchange program. When the war began, she asked the Americans for help: “First we bought bedding sets. Then we bought warm blankets.”
Dormitory. Public Cherkasy/Olga Lysenko
Then, when the lights started to go out, generators were purchased with funds from Sebastopol World Friends. And to save money, the boiler room was reconstructed and two solid fuel boilers were purchased, explained the college director Yuriy Polishchuk. “It was thanks to the reconstruction of the boiler room that we reduced the cost of heating the dormitory where the displaced people live,” he explained.
In partnership with the Rotary Club Cherkasy-Centre, Sebastopol World Friends helped with roof repairs, the director added. In 50 years, the roof, like the entire dormitory, has never been fully repaired. In some places, water has damaged the ceiling and walls of the fifth floor. Of the 12 blocks that need repairs, only one is being repaired — at the expense of the sister city of Sebastopol. “Here, pipes, batteries, plaster, and the floor need to be replaced. In general, there is still a lot to be done to make it function,” said Svitlana Pylypenko.
The renovation of one block will cost 800 thousand hryvnias, the college director explained. They will start by replacing the windows. They have already been delivered. But next in line are 11 more blocks of the dormitory. And there is no money for that. “We currently have 40 people living there, but after the planned renovations, we can still accommodate about 120. In fact, we need to renovate 12 blocks in the near future, each of which will house ten people.”
Everything requires at least nine million hryvnias. The twin city, in partnership with the Rotary Club Cherkasy-Centre, provided Chyhyryn with a total of two million 300 thousand hryvnias in assistance. So now they are looking for other sponsors, said Ms. Svitlana. “For one person, this is a large amount. In addition to repairs, we will need materials, equipment, beds, electric stoves, and furniture.”
We are grateful for what we have, but would like better conditions, added dormitory resident Oksana Nyunkina from the Kherson region: “The windows in the room were replaced. I wish they had done some renovations. I whitewashed it myself, but if they changed the wallpaper, it would be nice.”
