Project

Redeveloping Rozdil Friends Home

Since May 2023, Effective Aid Ukraine has been refurbishing Rozdil Friends Home, which accommodates approximately 100 boys and young men with significant special needs, including men and boys necessarily relocated from the temporarily–occupied Zaporizhzhia region for safety and to reduce the traumatic effects of war. Our partners in this work are the Lviv Regional Authority and the Ukrainian NGO, Without Limits.

Working closely with Yulia Kalyta, the director of Rozdil Friends Home, and Oleksandra Yanovych, founder of Without Limits, and chair of the Rozdil Friends Home board, Effective Aid Ukraine has developed a long–term plan for the sustainable redevelopment of Rozdil.

In our 27 years working with residential centres for children with special needs, Effective Aid Ukraine had never encountered an institution as poorly equipped as Rozdil Friends Home. To develop Rozdil Friends Home into a model of active and independent living, it became clear that the facility first required a complete refurbishment.

The refurbishment is progressing well. Together with our partners, Effective Aid Ukraine has renovated most of the dormitories, installed a new sensory room, replaced the outdated kitchen with a modern industrial facility, redeveloped the craft room, and installed new industrial laundry equipment. We have also built a new greenhouse, where the boys are learning to grow their own food.

Play and sport are vital for all children, especially children with special needs. Effective Aid Ukraine is installing a new playground and an outdoor gym at Rozdil Friends Home. These projects are due for completion by the end of December 2025.

Every resident has the right to learn digital skills, and to have access to a computer. Effective Aid Ukraine has supplied a full suite of laptops for a new computer room for the boys, along with new computers for the administrative staff at Rozdil Friends Home.

A key principle of sustainable assistance is enabling an institution to maintain itself effectively. For that reason, Effective Aid Ukraine has prioritised the renovation and re-equipping of the centre’s maintenance facilities. Today, Rozdil Friends Home has a range of tools, including heavy-duty power equipment. Experience shows that this intervention can transform a run-down institution, with the potential for the facility to become a model of renovation and practice for other residential homes.

Ultimately, the best way to help people living in an institution is to support them to transition to more independent living. De–institutionalisation is the long-term goal. In the meantime, working with the Irish NGO The Bridge, Effective Aid Ukraine has provided a wheelchair-accessible minibus, so the boys of Rozdil Friends Home can go on excursions for the first time.

Alongside this, Effective Aid Ukraine has provided new clothing for all residents, supplied craft materials on an ongoing basis, and ensured that every resident has toys. Each Christmas, Effective Aid Ukraine’s volunteers visit the centre with gifts chosen from the boys’ letters to Santa. Boys who cannot write draw pictures, while those unable to draw record short videos to share their wishes.