Repairing the facade of a youth space building and arranging a summer playground in the village of Novohryhorivka

This project will build a summer playground and repair the exterior of the youth space building in the village of Novohryhorivka, Mykolaiv Oblast, Ukraine.

As a result, children, youth, and parents from this village affected by the Russian invasion, as well as from neighboring villages, will have a cozy place to play, have fun, and engage in educational activities.

What is the problem?

In 2022, the village of Novohryhorivka was at the epicenter of hostilities. After the Russian occupation forces withdrew, it turned out that 95% of the residential buildings and all administrative buildings had been damaged. There was no cultural center or school left in the village. But there were just over 30 children under the age of 18. The younger children are unable to attend kindergarten, while the older ones study online only. At the same time, all of them have a need for peer-to-peer communication and comprehensive development.

In 2023, with the help of a number of volunteer organizations, Novohryhorivka residents renovated one of the more or less surviving shelters in the village and opened a youth space there. However, there was not enough money to repair the exterior of the building, so it remained with traces of shelling. This brings back painful memories of the horrific experience of war for the children.

Today, the space is one room, and there is often not enough space for everyone. Therefore, the village activists want to add a spacious summer terrace to the building. There they will install a tennis table, which was donated to them by volunteers from Poland.

How will this project solve the problem?

Having a cozy place for development and entertainment, children and young people will have a better chance of recovering from the traumatic experience of war, getting full development, quality leisure, and socialization in society.

The space is also open to children and young people from neighbouring villages where there is no educational and cultural infrastructure at all.

Potential long-term impact

In the long run, the existence and functioning of youth spaces has several positive effects. Firstly, children and young people gain new knowledge and experience of interaction, develop in a diverse way and form as individuals. Secondly, they get certain opportunities in their village and stay there, despite the still high risk of living in a country at war. Third, the youth center engages young people in activities, welcomes their initiatives, and shows them that their participation is important. In the future, these children will go to study in big cities. But many of them may return to their villages to make life better with their new professional knowledge.