How flexible financing helps to respond inclusively to challenges

Publication date: October 9, 2024

Thanks to the support provided by the Global Giving platform to the crisis response in Ukraine in August 2023, the Legal Development Network was able to implement several important decisions. Thus, humanitarian organizations in Mykolaiv and Kherson regions gained continuous access to the unnoticed and unmet verified humanitarian needs of the de-occupied communities of Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. Young people have been encouraged to take more active action through examples of change and involvement in recovery initiatives in the affected communities. We also managed to evacuate a family from Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast, saving their lives.

«It may seem that all these activities are very disparate and unrelated. But in fact, this is not the case. Last year, the Legal Development Network started working more in the South in the area of local coordination of humanitarian response. We saw many problems that cannot be solved within the framework of long and protracted project cycles and the initiatives we are already implementing. However, thanks to Global Giving’s flexible funding resources, we can quickly implement effective solutions. What we managed to do, otherwise we would never have done, or it would have been very difficult or maybe not timely. However, I would like to note that even with funding on such terms, we managed to build all the processes as transparently and correctly as possible», says project manager Timur Kanataev.

Local coordination of humanitarian response in the de-occupied communities of Mykolaiv and Kherson regions

In 2023, the Legal Development Network developed a mechanism for local coordination of humanitarian response in Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. Thanks to the mechanism, humanitarian organizations have continuous access to the list of verified unmet humanitarian needs of each settlement in the de-occupied communities.

Today, the mechanism is supported by 16 team members who have made more than 240 visits to the settlements of the de-occupied communities to collect and verify information about the needs.

As of the end of August 2024, the Link platform covered 289 settlements and collected a total of 2999 needs. The network of informants who report and help to clarify the needs reaches 592 people. There are more than 107 humanitarian organizations operating in the two oblasts that Link can help to operate even more effectively.

«For the mechanism to be truly effective, it was important for us to support its sustainable operation and impact. This was made possible by the availability of flexible funding. Since 2023, we have not had a single pause in our work, collecting and verifying data every month and sharing it with our partners. So today we have good results», says Oleksiy Tertyshnyi, project manager of the Legal Development Network.

Legal support for de-occupied communities and those who have moved abroad

The hostilities have destroyed the infrastructure of many de-occupied communities in Mykolaiv and Kherson oblasts, limiting access to legal aid. In addition, the full-scale invasion has led to an increase in their legal problems and the emergence of new ones, such as the restoration of lost documents that are necessary to receive social benefits, allowances and compensation, obtaining compensation for destroyed or damaged property; establishing ownership of real estate, and much more.

Mobile teams of professional lawyers have been set up in communities to identify legal needs and measure access to legal aid. From May to September 2024, they made 38 visits to seven communities, during which they identified and verified 79 legal needs. 39 needs have already been met, and eight caseshave been referred to other legal service providers.

«This strategy has made it possible to provide access to legal aid even in the most remote communities. The lawyers study and collect legal needs through surveys and interviews with community members, record them in a database, provide access to other services as needed, and refer them to service providers. If a legal problem requires a prompt response and resolution, lawyers provide such emergency assistance with further full-cycle support – from identifying the request to receiving feedback on the results of the problem. Our main goal is not only to provide basic legal advice, but also to create a sustainable system of legal support that will remain available to residents of the de-occupied communities, to promote legal awareness among residents of the de-occupied regions so that they can independently defend their rights in the future», says Daria Kovalchuk, Legal Services Manager.

Another tool for improving access to justice in the most remote communities in different regions of Ukraine is the client-paralegal-lawyer interaction mechanism . Paralegals are active residents who are trusted and respected by local residents. When paralegals start working on a legal problem that has been addressed to them and realize that they are unable to help, they redirect the request to a lawyer.

Over the period of the initiative, 7 lawyers from the member organizations of the Legal Development Network and 21 paralegalsfrom the Association of Paralegals of Ukraine were involved in the work. The geography of the activity covered Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovs’k, Zhytomyr, Zakarpattia, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy, Kherson, Chernihiv and Chernivtsi regions. In total, we processed more than 70 appeals from community residents, including vulnerable groups, veterans, military families, the elderly, activist groups, etc.

Work continues to provide legal assistance to Ukrainians abroad(https://pravoman.com/) Since the launch of the platform, from June 2022 to September 2024, 209,398 unique users have received 1,023,793 legal consultations through the service to help Ukrainians abroad. The most popular topics are lease, taxation, employment, financial aid and education.

The LDN also administers the online chat (ldn.org.ua), which provides an opportunity to get legal advice from lawyers of 22 human rights member organizations. From September 2023 to September 2024, the online chat received 1530 requests (more than 100 per month). The most common legal issues are: mobilization of the population, deferral from mobilization, guardianship of the elderly and persons with disabilities, updating data, crossing the border, guardianship, deferred care, utility arrears, continuation of IDP payments, obtaining compensation for damaged and destroyed property, and traffic offenses.

Youth as a community of change-makers in communities

20 young people from six settlements of the Shevchenkivska community in Mykolaiv region, many of whom survived the occupation for nine months in 2022, took part in a week-long intensive in Kyiv. It involved 16 trainers and speakers who provided training in emotional intelligence, media literacy, and career guidance.

«In my village, I don’t get any experience and development, we don’t have a place where we can all gather, because many schools are destroyed. In this program, I realized that I should never say to myself, “Stop, you can’t do it.” You can and should develop further and further. You have to teach someone. I have changed. I changed my attitude towards myself and others. In the future, I want to open a business in my community and also share what I learned during the program with young people», says Alina, 14, from Tsentralne village.

The participants created four project ideas for the development of their localities and the community as a whole, and upon their return initiated the creation of a youth council to act more proactively.

The first phase of the program took place in Mykolaiv, where an introductory meeting was held and “dream maps” were created – visualizations of participants’ personal and community goals. The participants studied emotional intelligence and its importance for everyday life. They explored emotions and learned how to apply self-regulation practices to combat stress. The following days in Kyiv were devoted to the development of soft skills and hard skills. Participants learned about the difference between these skills, their importance in a career, and how to combine them to achieve success.

«I learned a lot of new invaluable skills. When I went to Kyiv, I wanted to learn communication. And now I ask questions to lecturers and am not afraid to speak up. I dream of promoting my village in the future. I found opportunities in the program and I want to develop them when I come to my village», says Lilia, 13, from Tsentralne village.

Each day of the program ended with reflections with mentors who helped participants reflect on their experiences, analyze new knowledge, and understand how to apply it in real life. Mentor support was an important part of the process, contributing to a deeper understanding of the training materials.

«“Everything has changed for me – I have learned to express my opinion freely, not to be afraid to ask questions. I used to be afraid, thinking that my question was stupid. I also dream of promoting my village, creating a youth space in the community so that my peers can have fun, communicate and dream», says Iryna, 14, Znamianka village. 

Evacuation

At the end of February 2024, the Hromada managed to evacuate two people with disabilities who use a wheelchair from near Avdiivka, Donetsk region. In February, the city was occupied by Russian troops and subsequently virtually wiped off the map. So this help probably saved people’s lives.

First, military chaplains helped evacuate the residents of Donetsk region to Zaporizhzhia. Then a representative of the member organization of the Legal Development Network accompanied them from Zaporizhzhia to Vinnytsia.

“This case was very revealing. We realized that we need to support the evacuees in full – from transportation to safe areas, providing legal support to ensuring living conditions. I believe that in the future this experience will help us to work on it more at all stages of logistical and financial support,” said Timur Kanatayev.

Volunteer battalions: uniting through recovery

Another example of unification through community action was the unification of local activists and young people to repair social facilities in two villages of the Shevchenkivska community in Mykolaiv Oblast, Vavylove and Liubomyryivka.

The village of Liubomyryivka

suffered extensive damage in 2022 as it was located in the gray zone. Before the full-scale invasion, 641 people lived there. Currently, 212 remain, 31 of whom are children.

All administrative buildings, including the school, the starosta’s office, and the village club, have either been destroyed or damaged in a way that makes it easier to demolish them…

Out of 255 houses of local residents, 96 have been restored.

The only place where the villagers can gather and receive social services is the rural health center. However, until recently, it was also in a state of disrepair – the floor, walls, and electricity needed repair.

Two volunteers, Denys Vynnychuk from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast and Vitaliy Grabar from Lviv Oblast, who are well-versed not only in reconstructing buildings but also in bringing communities together, took up the task. The Dobrobat (voluntary construction battalion) brought together about 10 young people and craftsmen from the neighboring villages of Vavylove and Liubomyryivka. They cleared the premises of debris, removed the old cladding, and began to breathe new life into the building…

«”Young people invest like adults, or even better, because they don’t have those blinders, limits, stereotypes… the main thing is to gain trust and stimulate them financially. The guys involved with us already have another order from people. Young people are already interested in getting involved and creating their own teams,” says Denys Vynnychuk.

Vavylove village

The village is home to 420 people, 100 of whom are young people. For nine months in 2022, it was occupied by Russian troops. At the time of the Russian invasion, 174 residents remained in the village, including 13 children. During the entire period of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 20% of the buildings were damaged by shelling. Three houses were completely destroyed.

The place where the villagers gather is the old village club. Here they receive help from various organizations, and young people can play table tennis.

To make the club more suitable for organizing leisure activities, local leaders and volunteers, with funding from Global Giving, replaced the emergency electrical system in the building. This allowed them to provide good lighting. In addition, the damaged stage was repaired.

The achievements inspired the volunteers to continue their work. Local residents began to ask them to repair outbuildings and other facilities, replace the electricity, etc. So the volunteers continue to work on the restoration.

Crowdfunding campaign

It is worth noting that in order to increase the impact of the implemented initiatives, the Legal Development Network has started raising funds to equip children’s and medical rooms in the renovated premises of the outpatient clinic. Now it has enough space to provide quality social services. However, after extensive shelling and destruction by Russian troops, they managed to save a few equipment and old furniture, which is not enough.

In the village of Vavylove, young people dream of creating a cinema space on the basis of the village club. They will watch movies and then discuss them and, for example, play board games. So, the campaign funds will be used to buy the necessary equipment and furniture.So far, we have managed to raise only about $35. We thank all donors for their contributions and believe that this is just the beginning.

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