THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
The Zaporizhzhia Journalists’ Solidarity Center (JSC) of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) has organized a press tour called Development During The War for representatives of regional media and displaced journalists to the front-line Shyroke Community, which, despite all the difficulties, lives, develops, builds and even sheltered in its villages about 9,000 displaced people. Because, although in the current realities, the military topic is a leading one for journalists, Ukraine is still working. Because in order to win and be reborn strong and independent after the victory, it is necessary to raise the economy, rebuild, and develop the territories. This is also an important topic for media professionals.
“The Shyroke Territorial Community is a suburb of the city of Zaporizhzhia; it includes 35 settlements and ten prefect councils. Before the war, there were 15,000 residents here. Now, despite the fact that some people have left, the number of residents of the community has increased to 30,000-40,000 thanks to displaced people. In our country, it is customary to call them not IDPs, but new residents,” says the head of the community, Denys Korotenko.
Both he and his team impressed journalists with their creativity, initiative, enormous capacity for work 24/7, and the persistence with which they win grants, attract investors and donors, and receive state subsidies for the development and implementation of grand, ambitious projects.
Among the priority directions, the community singles out security issues, medical services, providing residents with a round-the-clock water supply and providing assistance to IDPs. The main goals for the management are people, quality of life, convenience, and improvement.
For example, in the villages of Shyroke, Mykolai-Pole, and Vidradne, family doctors already work in newly renovated and modernly equipped dispensaries and receive patients, and pharmacies operate. A new apartment awaits a family doctor in Shyroke on the second floor of the outpatient clinic. Doctors have cars at their disposal; there is even a social taxi – a special minibus for transporting people with special needs.
In the Shyroke Leisure Center, there is a youth hub, a library where creative meetings and master classes are held, a Center for Sustainability, Administrative Services Center.
“The sustainability center is an experimental project aimed at the socialization and development of sustainability. This grant project is implemented with the support of the Ministry of Social Policy and within the framework of the How Are You? program, which is managed by the First Lady, Olena Zelenska. A psychologist and a social manager work in the Center. Everyone who needs psychosocial help can turn here, says Dmytro Lukiyanenko, the director of the Center for Social Services of the Shyroke Community.
“Recovery means not only construction and walls but also people and their mental health. Currently, there are five psychosocial support centers in the community, at each club.
Youth hubs are open in almost every state. Shyroke, in which the youth council works and is constantly updated, has been active for six years. Rural youth, which is almost 7,000 people, receive special attention. The development agency prepares projects and documentation for participation in grant projects of UNICEF, the Ukrainian League of the East, and 30 other public and charitable organizations for resource assistance. The program Become Successful In The Community is constantly active in the development of vital competencies: critical thinking, leadership, volunteering, and knowledge of English.
It was interesting for journalists to learn about all this, as well as to visit a newly built small group home for children and teenagers whose parents are deprived of parental rights. This project is still under development and is waiting for a team of modern, experienced teachers.
Journalists, including many IDPs, were moved to tears by a meeting with families of displaced persons, for whom a hostel has been set up in the village of Mykolai-Pole.
“There is such a level of comfort here – modern household appliances, new furniture. Coziness… You won’t see this anywhere, even in Zaporizhzhia,” shares the impressions of Alla Shamrai, a displaced journalist from Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Region.
In the village of Petropil, journalists were shown the final stage of the construction of a state-of-the-art Security Center, which will house a fire department, an ambulance station, and one of the community’s four police officers. According to Oleksandr Bondar, the chief “security guard” of the community, an emergency vehicle will reach any point in the community in 15 minutes.
The development of security measures in Petropil made it possible this year to bring schoolchildren from the main educational institution, in which the shelter is set up, to mixed education. The former basement is equipped with classrooms for five classes at once, a dining room, toilets, and a recreation area. The plans include the construction of an underground school.
Stopping and inspecting the reconstructed park area of the village of Volodymyrivske reminded me of war, grief, and losses: human losses and territorial losses. The main symbol installed in the park is a rusty Trident made of the last metal poured at Azovstal. Excited, Vladyslav Tverdokhlib, a journalist from occupied Mariupol, put his palm to the Trident. Azovstal has now become a symbol of his hometown, from where he managed to reach Zaporizhzhia on foot.
“This small park with the Trident and a place of rest, and a place of sorrow and memory,” he says.
The journalists were also shown the special pride of the Shyroke Community – the large-scale reconstruction of the more than 19-kilometer-long Northern Group water pipeline with the construction of its pumping station, which will enable residents of even the most remote villages to constantly use drinking water.
Organized by the Zaporizhzhia JSC of the NUJU, the press tour around the villages of the front-line Shyroke Community gave journalists the opportunity to collect rich and varied material for publications, inspiring positive emotions and faith in the revival of destroyed territories.
Call the Zaporizhzhia JSC at 096 277 5352 (Nataliya Kuzmenko and Valentyna Manzhura, the Zaporizhzhia JSC coordinators). The Center’s address is 152 Sobornyi Avenue.
ABOUT JSC
The Journalists’ Solidarity Centers is an initiative of the NUJU implemented with the support of the International and European Federations of Journalists and UNESCO. The initiative is designated to help media representatives working in Ukraine during the war. The Centers operate in Kyiv, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipro and provide journalists with organizational, technical, legal, psychological, and other types of assistance.
ABOUT UNESCO
UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. It contributes to peace and security by promoting international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication, and information. UNESCO promotes knowledge sharing and the free flow of ideas to accelerate mutual understanding. It is the coordinator of the UN Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, which aims to create a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers, thus strengthening peace, democracy, and sustainable development worldwide. UNESCO is working closely with its partner organizations in Ukraine to provide support to journalists on the ground.
The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this digest do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area or its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this digest and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit to the organization.
Olena Morozova
Photo by Yurii Zelinskyi and Ihor Samoilenko
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