Brovarska hromada became second home for thousands of IDPs from Luhansk Oblast - head of Svativska AH

After the enemy occupied Svatove, Luhansk Oblast, in March 2022, Brovary, Kyiv Oblast, became the de facto administrative center for the residents of this city community. Why they chose this city, how the authorities of Svatove help the residents of their community in other regions of Ukraine and all the internally displaced persons who are currently living in the Brovary community, as well as how cooperation with the authorities of Brovary is established, said Oleksandr Mitkevych, head of the Svatove City Military Administration, in a commentary to UNN.

"Two of our employees ended up in Brovary. They started looking for a room for a humanitarian hub and found it. Then we recruited people for the hub to be local. And that's how we stayed in Brovary. The Brovary community has become a refuge for thousands of internally displaced persons from Luhansk region,  who have found a second home here, sincere and friendly neighbors," says Oleksandr Mitkevych.

The head of the Svativska IBA notes that the authorities of the Brovary community are constantly helping. He adds that the residents of their community, who were forced to leave their homes due to the full-scale invasion, have found refuge in many parts of Ukraine, and it is necessary to keep in touch with them.

"Brovary helps us a lot and is always willing to meet us halfway in various matters. We try to solve issues with employment and housing. We also communicate on these issues with the authorities in other regions. In particular, in Volyn region, our charity foundation has renovated a former boarding school, and now we will accommodate IDPs there," says Mitkevich.

The Svativska IBA Humanitarian Hub, located in Brovary, is a fairly powerful structure. It distributes humanitarian aid on a regular basis - last week alone, more than 500 internally displaced persons from Luhansk Oblast received it.

Here you can also get medical advice and free medicines, legal assistance in restoring various documents, granting children the status of war victims, calculating pensions and other important issues.

In addition, Mr. Mitkevych clarifies that it is in Brovary that the humanitarian hub will provide assistance to IDPs from other regions.

"We have now started registering IDPs from other regions. In the first stages, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Odesa. At first, it will be psychological and legal assistance from foundations. And then we will work with donors, those who provide humanitarian aid only for Luhansk residents, so that they can give it specifically for them," adds the head of Svativska MBA.

Recall

The Brovary community is developing a comprehensive program to support internally displaced persons.

The mayor of Brovary, Ihor Sapozhko, in a comment to UNN, emphasized that people who left everything in the occupied and frontline territories, fleeing from Russian bullets, shells and missiles, should not feel abandoned.

"We understand these people like no one else, because in the first days of the war, the Russian occupiers were on the outskirts of our city, where fierce fighting was going on. Brovary residents also left and sought refuge in other regions of Ukraine or abroad. Therefore, the city council is doing everything possible to facilitate the adaptation of these people and their integration into our Brovary community. We are developing various projects and programs to ensure that people have jobs, housing, and access to social services," said Igor Sapozhko.