On October 23, a meeting was held with the IDP initiative group, which will later be able to create a Council for internally displaced persons under the local government. The meeting took place in the frames of the United Voices for Action program, which is implemented by our Foundation together with IREX in Ukraine.
Our regional coordinators are always looking for active people among IDPs who are ready to become actors of change in their new communities. Thus, on October 23, in Lviv, a city that has become one of the largest hubs for displaced people, a meeting was held with IDP initiative group, which will later be able to create a Council for internally displaced persons under the local government.
The meeting took place in the frames of the United Voices for Action program, which is implemented by our Foundation together with IREX in Ukraine. The program is aimed at integrating IDPs into host communities, meeting their needs and, as a result, reducing the vulnerability of this group. Oksana Rubai, Adviser to the Head of the Lviv City Council, and representatives of the public sector also took part in the event.
The next step will be the kick-off meeting of the IDP initiative group and potential candidates for IDP Council membership with the leadership of the city council.
Why do we work with IDP initiative groups in the regions? This is how Oksana Yakovets, our regional coordinator in Lvivska oblast, explains it.
“We hold such meetings in order to find active people who care about the prospect of staying in our city and the region in general, who plan not just to spend the winter, but to become full members of this community. Knowing the problems of IDPs from the inside, they can offer solutions or at least develop certain proposals. For example, the housing problem will not be solved either tomorrow or in six months, but with small steps we will be able to overcome it together. Therefore, it is important for us to find active people and involve them in the creation of a new community.
There is another aspect. According to the Ministry of Economy, there are more than a hundred relocated enterprises in Lviv region. It is important for us to support their owners and employees in a new place, to activate their public position. Yes, they moved here not of their own free will, but to save life and business, but life goes on. Maybe starting from scratch isn’t always scary? Perhaps the current circumstances open up new opportunities, new resources, new horizons for these people? And we want to actively work with them, help and support them. We plan to create a center, an initiative group, which will eventually, after training and methodical support from our side, become a full-fledged IDP council and protect the interests of displaced people in the region.”
Do you want positive changes for IDPs in your community? Join the initiative groups! Write to us at [email protected] or in private messages to learn more.