12 April
VUHLEDAR

On 11 April the non-governmental organisation Impulse hosted the next meeting of the working group in charge of preparation and development of business plans of social enterprises in Vuhledar town. The meeting was conducted within the framework of the coalition project Together for the Future. Around 10 people took part in the meeting including two members of the project staff and eight representatives of the target group.

In March the working group was involved in the development of the business plan of the social enterprise making crocheting products. The working group reviewed the features of the product/service in detail as well as the existing competition, risks, methods for keeping the customers informed. The members of the working group developed the marketing strategy of the company, performed a research on the potential demand of this type of product and did a forecast of sales and cash flow.

Two individuals from the working group were appointed to be in charge of the business plan development. Women had an opportunity to learn how to work on the computer and to present their ideas on paper.

On 11 April 2006 the group presented the first business plan developed by joint efforts. The working group was able to evaluate the work carried out during the month. The business plan was assessed as adequate; however, the group came up with a few proposals to improve it.

At the same meeting the working group started the development of a new business plan of the social enterprise providing babysitting and tutoring services.

Svitlana Komar
Director, “Together for the Future” Project




7 April
YENAKIEVE

Youth is To Make a Choice

At the end of March the Youth for Democratic Changes Project conducted the first regional youth academic conference Will, Choice, Responsibility in the Professional Growth of Contemporary Youth in Yenakieve. The coalition of the non-governmental organisations together with the Donetsk Management Institute and the Yenakieve Innovation-Consulting Centre were the organisers of the event.

Over 120 people, students of the Donetsk Management Institute, professors and senior pupils from Yenakieve and Zhdanivka took part in the conference.

The top officials and prominent people of the community welcomed young people with active life attitude and not indifferent to their future. Among them were the co-chairman of the organisational committee, Hero of Ukraine Mr. Lytvynov and the deputy of the regional council, head of the non-governmental organisation of employers of Yenakieve town Mr. Polyakov, deputy head of the department in charge of family, youth and sport at the regional state administration Mrs. Zolkina, deputy head of the Donetsk regional council of trade unions Mrs. Makoveyeva, head of the non-governmental organisation Donna Mrs. Orlyk and other members of the organisational committee.

Three panel discussions were conducted in the course of the conference. They were Principle Will, Choice and Responsibility in the education and professional work of future specialists, Psychological-pedagogical Challenges and Methods of Professional Growth of the Personality of Contemporary Youth and Innovative Types and Methods of Career Guidance.
At the end of the conference the most active participants received Certificates of Honour.

Olga Kozakova
project PR- manager




24 March
VUHLEDAR

The Coalition of the Non-governmental Organisations and the Local Employment Centre Develop the Partnership Strategy

On 24 March 2006 at the initiative of the local employment centre the non-governmental organisation Impulse hosted a round-table discussion on Participation of the Local Employment Centre in the Implementation of the Together for the Future Project Carried Out by the Coalition of the Non-governmental Organisations. The representatives of the employment centre, coalition, local council and the city executive committee, project target group participated in the event.

The goal of the round-table discussion was to consider various ways of co-operation between the state authorities represented by the local employment centre and the coalition of the non-governmental organisations in addressing the problems of the unemployed women including the disabled people within the framework of the Together for the Future Project.

During the event Svitlana Komar, project director, presented the goals and objectives of the Together for the Future Project. Ms. Psheborska, manager, announced the vision of the coalition of the concrete directions and methods that would enable the local employment centre and the coalition to inform and to attract unemployed people to the project. Ms. Krasnopolska, director of the local employment centre, stressed on the support to the project rendered by the centre and proposed their vision of the co-operation between two parties.

According to the representatives of the local authorities Ms. Mikheyeva and Ms. Shiyan, consolidation of all sectors of the community was vital in addressing social problems and the conducted round-table discussion demonstrated that.

The representatives of the target group had an opportunity to express their thoughts and recommendations concerning the co-operation. These proposals will be considered in the future work.

The participants of the round-table discussion prepared the resolution of the meeting. They outlined the concrete directions and methods of the co-operation between the local employment centre and the coalition of the non-governmental organisations of Vuhledar town. This co-operation will ensure a more professional approach to the project target group while implementing the Together for the Future Project.

Svitlana Komar
director Together for the Future Project




March 20
ARTEMIVSK

Meeting in the Warm Home

Unfortunately the veterans face many problems at present. However the main problem is lack of communication since the circle of friends and acquaintances is rather small. And it gets smaller every year. Therefore, Learning to Live Together Project implemented by the coalition of the non-governmental organisations has worked on the creation of the club of elderly people called Warm Home on the premises of the central library of the town, which is the project partner. And recently the club conducted its first meeting for the veterans of war and labour, disabled and retired people.

The meeting was held following the pattern of the World Café technique. The participants of the meeting received five questions to answer: How do you see the club’s work? Who would you like to meet with at the club’s meetings? What are your proposals regarding the club’s statute? What subjects of the next meetings would you propose? What are your hobbies and interests?

The members of the club were very active; they made many proposals concerning the topics of the next meetings of the club and the statute. For instance, they made a proposal to include to the statute the following: “wear a smile when entering and leaving the club”. Almost fifty per cent of the members love music, songs and would like to meet with the participants of the local veterans’ choir, with professors from the local music college, with talented youth, winners of various contests, competitions, sport events.

Some members of the club have land plots and are in for gardening and orchards and they are willing to share their experience. The atmosphere of the meeting was warm, friendly, accompanied by humour and good mood.
The first meeting held in the club Warm Home ended with songs performed by the participants and tasty cup of tea and coffee.

All participants expressed their gratitude to the project, to the library for organising the work of the club, for the interesting manner in which the meeting was held. They promised to come to the next meeting in a good mood as well.

Nina Zakharova,
Project PR manager




14 February
LVIV

Within two years, Lviv Oblast has got about a million and a half Ukrainian hryvnias to deal with the social problems of local communities

On 9 February Lviv Oblast State Administration hosted public officials and NGO members’ round table who met to discuss the achievements of the DU Programme in providing assistance in solving social problems of Lviv Oblast.
Within the first level resources of community projects targeted at relieving social problems, about a million and a half hryvnias were allocated to employ the disabled, youth, pensioners, help rehabilitate and socially adapt the disabled, orphans and children deprived of parental care. Within the first level micro-projects, a great deal of attention was paid to establishing partnership relations with local governments. According to Christine Forrester, Strategic Programme Consultant, Great Britain, the NGOs, while cooperating with the Programme, came to much better understand their needs, especially in protecting socially vulnerable groups. This can be proven by the fact that the town of Brody allocated UAH 10 000 for salaries of Strumok Disable Rehabilitation Centre, Sambir and Drohobych Employment Centres started practicing Employment Fairs, etc.

The second level of micro-project implementations within the Democratising Ukraine Programme is expected to last for a year and provides for
• channelling funds (over half a million hryvnias) to go on with the work that began during the first level of funding, and to develop the mechanisms of viability and sustainability of the processes launched,

• introducing in the region’s NGO the practices of the raising funds from local sources to minimise the dependence on donor agencies.

To achieve this goal, the community members will introduce in their work the innovation techniques: signing the compacts (social contracts between the communities and local governments with a view to settle mutual obligations when dealing with the issues that are socially meaningful in a certain community), setting up community foundations, social enterprises (i.e. institutions which besides business objectives have also social aims), etc, which will help to raise funds for community.

Olena Golyuk,
Communications and Outreach Manager, DU Programme




1 February
BRODY

Social Protection Not Only For the Dead
Recently Brody District Council and Administration have hosted the public hearings on We are One Community Project. The Project Board suggested two issues for the discussion: the Programme of Rehabilitating Disabled Children and Youth in the Town of Brody in 2006 and the Social Item of the Town Budget for the coming Year.

Lesia Oliyevska introduced the provisions of the Programme of Rehabilitating Disabled Children and Youth in the Town of Brody in 2006, its purpose and directions.
Lobbying interests of the disabled in this country is a challenge. Numerous declarative programmes have been adopted, while the financial support is actually unavailable. This is why, Lesia thinks, the public ought to enable the disabled children to learn how to be self-sufficient as much as possible in their future life. With this in view, financial support must be ensured of the events provided for in the Programme.
The participants of the public hearings called upon the members of the local and district councils, town and district leaders to consider and approve the Programme funding in 2006 at the respective councils sessions, to promote social adaptation, physical rehabilitation and maximum independence of a disabled child or young person in future.

The very same day, the public hearings’ materials (the Programme, the minutes of the hearings, and the resolution) were submitted for consideration of the Town Council Budget Commission. It took a lot of efforts to persuade the Town Council that the public appeal should be taken heed of and the social items of the Town Budget needed to be changed. Till then the town deputies knew only that only those dead need social care, as they have to be buried. Those alive did not need any. However, the Budget Commission did decide to earmark UAH 10,000 to pay the personnel of Strumok Rehabilitation and Teaching Centre.

The next day an ordinary session of the Broody Town Council was held, where, despite the resistance of the Town Mayor, after a heated debate, the town deputies did decide to allocate the UAH 10,000 to pay the personnel of Strumok Rehabilitation and Teaching Centre.
We believe it is a great achievement of our NGO and the Brody NGO Coalition that jointly work on We are One Community Project within the Democratising Ukraine Small Project Scheme.

Maria Benedyk,
PR Manager, We are One Community project, Brody


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