In Chernihiv region, a century-old school was restored using the traditional technology of mud houses
Date: 2023-10-10 Author: Кирило Загоруйко Categories: RECONSTRUCTION, REGIONS
As reported by U-LEAD, the facility was being renovated as part of the "Rebuilding local schools for sustainability" initiative.
"In this project, we tried to rethink the traditional and the modern. To give the school a new life, but at the same time to use traditional technologies and preserve the local culture of construction and design," explained Vitaliy Selyk, director of the "Brave" foundation.
Repair works were carried out during July-September. More than 40 local residents and 60 "Brave" volunteers completely restored the external walls of the school and decorated the walls with clay mixture for 20 days.
Works were supervised by the folk craftsman Mykola Stepanets, who has experience in building mud huts.
In addition, about 20 local professional builders were involved in the repair work, who replaced the electrical system, the roof with a modern one, the windows with energy-efficient ones, and repaired the drainage system. They also built an entrance group with a ramp, repaired the walls, ceiling, and floor in the library, classrooms, corridor, and lobby. They equipped the classrooms with furniture, transformer desks, sports equipment, televisions, spotlights, sound systems, painted murals with traditional Ukrainian ornaments on the walls. In addition, the recreation area, flower beds, school bus stop were renovated and fire bioprotection was applied to wooden surfaces and the roof.
A Canadian maple tree was planted on the school grounds in honor of "Brave" volunteer Anthony "Tonko" Ignat, who helped rebuild the school and was killed near Bakhmut by a Russian shell in September.
The project "Rebuilding local schools for sustainability" is implemented by the Charitable Organization "Courageous Foundation" within the framework of the "U-LEAD with Europe" Program and with the financial support of the Service of Foreign Policy Instruments of the European Commission.
U-LEAD's "Rebuilding Local Schools for Resilience" initiative aims to provide concrete support to 12 selected war-affected communities in three regions of Ukraine – Chernihiv, Kyiv and Kharkiv Oblasts – by funding their individual approaches to restoring access to education. The project will provide an opportunity to assess the damage and invest in the repair of school buildings or, if the latter are structurally unsafe or destroyed, provide access to online learning through the creation of digital learning centers.
