21.07.2011
Activity of village communities in Sumy Oblast results in their ideas’ financing
Today, many rural communities take the initiative and learn to defend their rights. And just where are able to come together, there are good results worthy of imitation. For example, residents of Virovskogo village council got together and decided that their village needed water. Pleasure is not a cheap one, but people managed to self-organize and collected part of the amount necessary to carry out works, and then began to contact the regional state administration, the regional council. As a result of the initiative "from below”, got a financial support from the "top" and the village, which kept the entire infrastructure, including the hospital and the library, now has running water as well.
In Kalyuzhnyansky village council (Lebedinsky rayon), population self-organized, collected over 17 thousand UAH to install street lights. Association of citizens to address the problems of the village has been created there.
In Samotoevka village, Krasnopolsky rayon, local village head managed to organize population for a good cause - a large planting of an orchard in the village center. Village Council is now busy with the issue of street lighting, as well as implementing its own program of prevention and control over home brewing.
In Samotoevka village, Krasnopolsky rayon, local village head managed to organize population for a good cause - a large planting of an orchard in the village center. Village Council is now busy with the issue of street lighting, as well as implementing its own program of prevention and control over home brewing.
There are many positive examples of rural communities’ active work.
Some communities cannot self-organize, believing that to solve important questions need they will need a lot of money. But as practice shows – it is important to start working, and financial issues will also be solved. At what expense? One can find internal resources, sponsors can assist; besides it is possible to take part in competitions and projects and win the grant to solve this or that issues. By the way, within the last 8 years, 30 rural communities in Sumy became the winners and received funds to implement their projects.
Some communities cannot self-organize, believing that to solve important questions need they will need a lot of money. But as practice shows – it is important to start working, and financial issues will also be solved. At what expense? One can find internal resources, sponsors can assist; besides it is possible to take part in competitions and projects and win the grant to solve this or that issues. By the way, within the last 8 years, 30 rural communities in Sumy became the winners and received funds to implement their projects.
"It is the activity of rural communities has become crucial in Sumy Oblast, for Swiss-Ukrainian project “Decentralization support In Ukraine” (DESPRO) came to Oblast, - says Oleksandr Sitak, head of main Econimic Department of Sumy Oblast State Administration. - Only recently Sumy Oblast has signed an agreement to implement the second phase of the UNDP project, which will cover 11 rayons, and here's another good opportunity for communities to solve their problems - the project DESPRO”.
Igor Zvyagin, DESPRO representative, says that three rayons that were not previously involved in the projects: Romensky, Konotop and Krolevetsky have been selected to participate in a project. Territorial communities, which will self-organize organize can expect for support with the water supply networks, i.e. project specialization. According to the words of Tatiana Gorenko, head of the territorial community of Yaroshevka village, Romensky rayon, since the moment when the idea to construct a water supply network till the construnction was launched, a lot of controversy and disbelief took place. Cooperative was established, the community has gathered 29 thousand UAH for design and budget documents, local budget has allocated funds and people realized that in fact they are not left alone with their problems. A shared desire to provide water for school and kindergarten united the population even more.
Igor Zvyagin, DESPRO representative, says that three rayons that were not previously involved in the projects: Romensky, Konotop and Krolevetsky have been selected to participate in a project. Territorial communities, which will self-organize organize can expect for support with the water supply networks, i.e. project specialization. According to the words of Tatiana Gorenko, head of the territorial community of Yaroshevka village, Romensky rayon, since the moment when the idea to construct a water supply network till the construnction was launched, a lot of controversy and disbelief took place. Cooperative was established, the community has gathered 29 thousand UAH for design and budget documents, local budget has allocated funds and people realized that in fact they are not left alone with their problems. A shared desire to provide water for school and kindergarten united the population even more.
Similar situation one can observe in Bobryk village, same rayon. Yuriy Lyah, cooperative head, says that at the very beginning it was pretty difficult to organize the people and make them believe that project is working. But over some time, doubts have disappeared. Currently, due to cooperation between community and local power and DESPRO financial support the construction of water supply system has been launched in a village.
According to experts’ opinion, such projects unite the power and civil society to achieve common goals, i.e. improving the living standards and quality. And if to consider that thanks to initiative of Yuriy Chmurya, head of Oblast state administration – “Common Investment Window” – much more investments appeared in Oblast, communities’ activity will work for themselves. It is a well known fact that investor comes to a territory where he can find working resources. These are the places with “established” life.