Name of the initiative: Summer terrace "Oasis"
The terrace was the dream of all residents of the shelter for IDPs in the village of Lukavtsi. It was built thanks to the SCLR program. Now more than ten families with children have a cozy place to relax and socialize.
- We planned a smaller area, but in the end we found an opportunity to build a more spacious terrace, so that there would be enough space for leisure and various educational activities with children, - said the manager of the shelter, Kateryna Strazhyr. - Residents of the shelter and local volunteers joined the construction. Halyna from Mykolaiv with two children lives with us, she paints well, so she agreed with other women and together they created a wall painting, which became the center of our terrace. They depicted an oasis on it - this was the name of our terrace construction project.
Our shelter has been active since the beginning of a full-scale war, sheltering someone for a few weeks, and someone for a few years. In total, this is more than 200 people. The first months of work gave me the understanding that simply allocating a room for displaced people is only half the battle. People needed communication. Everyone who left home and came to the shelter had his own life experience, his own story.
In fact, the terrace itself found its place. The first inhabitants of the Shelter made a temporary cover with a shading net with their own hands, from materials at hand, but, unfortunately, it did not save from the rain. Now the terrace is in constant use. Whoever comes to visit us: donors, representatives of humanitarian organizations, social workers, local self-government bodies - all meetings are held on the terrace.
- I am glad that the children now have such a beautiful space, - says the senior inspector of juvenile prevention of the Vyzhnytskyi district police department, Yuliya Zelska, who often visits the shelter. - They live here for a long time, and they need such a common space to communicate with friends in the fresh air in any weather. Here you can read, play, and invite friends from local families - and this contributes to adaptation. We have already managed to become friends with these children. As soon as a new family settles in this shelter, we always come to get to know them, make an act of inspection of the living conditions, give our contacts to the parents and establish a trusting relationship with them. With the children of this shelter, our department often conducts games, training, excursions, and even baked gingerbread together for the Armed Forces.
According to the policewoman, this shelter currently remains the only shelter for IDPs in the area. Until recently, a collective center for displaced persons operated in Brusnytsia, but it was disbanded. Instead, the shelter in Lukavtsi secretly receives requests from those willing to move from war-torn regions.
Family evenings, a cup of fragrant coffee in the morning coolness, educational games for children and adults, discussion of common problems, news - all this has a positive effect on every resident. This is a good place for evening movie sessions, communication with a psychologist, for art therapy, for solitude, if there is a need for it.
The first birthday, which was celebrated on the terrace, was that of a boy who left his home in Mariupol with his family. They have been living in a shelter for more than a year. The birthday boy was greeted not in the dining room, as before, but in the fresh air. There was enough space for all the children and also for the animators.
The SCLR program for supporting community initiatives in Bukovyna is implemented by the public organization AREAC - Chernivtsi Regional Association for Social Development with the administrative support of Fundatia Heks/Eper Romania and the financial support of Swiss Solidarity and Act Alliance.