The Khmilnyk residents have drawn up a clear plan that will help the resettled people to integrate into the community

Publication date: May 3, 2023

In Khmilnyk, Vinnytsia oblast, a Plan for the Integration of Internally Displaced Persons into Community Life was developed and approved. It will help those who are forced to flee the war to integrate into the community as comfortably as possible. 

The idea of creating a clear plan of action to help those who have found shelter in the Khmilnyk community (Vinnytsia oblast) belongs to the local NGO “Pravo”. This organization, which recently celebrated 18 years of its activity and was one of the first to join the Legal Development Network many years ago, knows firsthand about the problems of IDPs. After all, more than a year ago, responding to the challenges of a full-scale war, Pravo lawyers and activists created a humanitarian hub “Murashnyk” (Anthill) in their community. During this time, it implemented and continues to implement more than a dozen useful initiatives to help IDPs, becoming a cozy and supportive space for both displaced people and local residents. At Murashnyk, everyone can receive social and legal assistance and personally participate in numerous initiatives that help adults and children not only to survive in war conditions but also to integrate into the community as comfortably as possible.

The conclusion that there is an acute problem in the community in the systematic analysis of the needs of internally displaced persons, as well as in the development of a clear plan that would contribute to meeting these needs and solving the problems of IDPs, was made by the Pravo team on the basis of the activities of the hub, and after conducting a series of consultations with representatives of local authorities and with the IDPs themselves.

• At that time, there was no established mechanism in the community that would allow monitoring the needs of internally displaced persons and responding to such challenges, – comments the head of the NGO Pravo, Vitalii Dorokh.

Vitalii adds that according to the Center for the Provision of Administrative Services of the Khmilnyk City Territorial Community, as of April 20, 2023, more than 7,230 internally displaced persons, including 2,019 children, were registered in the community. At the same time, in fact, the number of such persons is much higher, since not all who moved to the Khmilnyk community registered.

• In partnership with the Khmilnyk City Council, we prepared the project “Quality services for internally displaced persons of the community”, which was supported by the Enhance Non-Governmental Actors and Grassroots Engagement (ENGAGE), financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Pact in Ukraine, – explains Vitalii Dorokh.

In the fall of 2022, the project team conducted a sociological study of the problems and needs of internally displaced persons who found shelter in the Khmilnyk community. A two-day facilitation session was also held, in which representatives of Pravo NGO, city authorities, other partner organizations, as well as internally displaced persons took part.

Having analyzed all the received information, the organization’s experts, together with city council officials, developed a Plan for the integration of IDPs into community life. After that, there was a public discussion of the plan with the participation of all interested parties — and its approval by the executive committee of the Khmilnyk City Council on March 15, 2023.

The measures provided for in the integration plan will help to solve the following urgent issues:

• provision of housing for IDPs;
• creating conditions for them to receive income;
• providing IDPs with legal and psychological support,
• providing IDPs who are in a crisis situation with clothes and shoes;
• prompt response to problems and needs of IDPs in the community.

To get acquainted with the Plan for the Integration of IDPs into Community Life click here (in Ukrainian).

Also read:

«Murashnyk» of good deeds: from legal aid to gardening lessons
«Murashnyk» of good deeds: new initiatives to help displaced people
«Murashnyk» of good deeds: lawyers and activists from Khmilnyk help both people and animals to survive the war

The material was created within the framework of the “Regional Coordinators” Initiative. The initiative is launched with the support of the international charity platform GlobalGiving and the Legal Empowerment Fund (Fund for Global Human Rights program) and the Legal Development Network. The content of the publication is solely the responsibility of the Legal Development Network and does not necessarily reflect the views of the previously mentioned organizations.

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