
The Mayor of Mariupol Vadym Boichenko and the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine Maciej Janczak met in Kyiv to discuss further cooperation. The occupation of Mariupol has been going on for almost two years, so the most pressing issue of concern to Mariupol residents is the lack of housing. This was the main topic of the meeting.
In mid-2022, Mariupol municipality team, led by Mayor Vadym Boichenko, began to develop a recovery plan Mariupol Reborn. In order to avoid as many mistakes as possible, the experience is being learned from European cities that have rebuilt after the war in a short time. However, until Mariupol is liberated from the enemy, it is necessary to create conditions for Mariupol residents to live in other communities. Other major projects include the introduction of a new transparent model of cooperation for the creation of social housing for Mariupol residents. This is an example of an effective partnership between the Ukrainian government, the municipality and international partners. These are opportunities to attract additional investment and meet the immediate needs of people who have literally lost everything.
The pilot project, a dormitory in Dnipro that has been converted into temporary housing, has already been inhabited. In 2023, 35 Mariupol families, including 127 people, received the keys to their accommodation at the opening ceremony. Today, the team of the Mariupol City Council and Mariupol Reborn have already reached agreements with partners on several more facilities. Two dormitories in Dnipro, home to one of the largest communities in Mariupol, are being renovated. Locations in Kropyvnytskyi and Zaporizhzhia are at the design stage.
"Today, Mariupol Reborn has many partners in different areas. But we have a successful case of transforming old dormitories into new modern temporary housing for Mariupol residents. Due to russia's full-scale invasion of Ukrainian land, the residents of Mariupol have lost everything and it is now up to us to help people. That is why every partnership is a chance to make life more comfortable for a few more dozens of our people," - Mayor of Mariupol Vadym Boichenko.
Finding partners for the reconstruction of temporary housing is the most difficult stage. Today, there is a need for partnerships for several buildings in different parts of Ukraine. Among them are two dormitories in Chernivtsi region and one in Ivano-Frankivsk. In total, they can accommodate almost four hundred Mariupol residents who were forced to leave their hometown due to the war and occupation by the enemy.
Housing is allocated on a point system. Families of servicemen and prisoners of war, those released from captivity and their families, families of fallen and deceased defenders of Ukraine, families with many children and low-income families will be given priority for housing.
"Thank you for the work done by the Mariupol municipality team. Promoting legislative initiatives and implementing democratic principles of work are important aspirations in which we will support Mariupol," said Maciej Janczak, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine.
As a result of the meeting, Vadym Boychenko and Maciej Janczak agreed to set up working groups that will continue to work on joint projects. In his turn, the Mayor presented the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine with a commemorative coin that would remind him of the heroic defense of the hero city of Mariupol.
Reference. The Mariupol Reborn project is being implemented by the Mariupol City Council with the investment support of Rinat Akhmetov's SCM.