"Conversations about Restoration": Pavlo Yarmii, head of the NGO "ARD TATC", about prospects for the restoration of the Kherson region

The discussion of the restoration of the Kherson region is urgent, especially in the conditions of constant shelling and threats from the enemy. Local residents are worried about the situation, and optimism is decreasing daily. Drones are dropped daily in Kherson, which poses a danger to people's lives.

Today, we have the opportunity to talk with Pavlo Yarmii, the head of the NGO "Agency of Regional Development of the Tavria Association of Territorial Communities," about how appropriate it is now to talk about restoration and what prospects await us.

Before the full-scale invasion, the NGO "Agency of Regional Development of the Tavria Association of Territorial Communities" worked in the Kherson region on cultural projects related to the history and culture of Ukraine. Currently, the NGO continues its work in the Vinnytsia, Cherkasy, and Kirovohrad regions on a project aimed at showing that Ukraine has a rich cultural heritage that existed long before modern political events. Pavlo Yarmii believes it is important to emphasize that Ukrainians have always lived in these territories and have the right to their cultural heritage.

Pavlo Yarmii is an entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience and extensive experience in community development. Therefore, it was exciting to learn his opinion on the prospect of business recovery in the Kherson region: "The first thing we need is to conduct research and extensive analytical work, surveying the population to understand in general what the situation is today in Kherson and the region. As far as I know, more than 50% of the population that moved is not ready to come back unless we do something so that people are interested in coming back to be involved in some important cause, the cause of their lives. We need to make such a visionary roadmap for what we will do in the Kherson region under different scenarios in the future." The question of restoration of the Kakhovska HPP should also play an important role here because it is vital for the left bank of the Kherson Region.

In Pavlo's opinion, the visionary seeing of what the Kherson region will be is critical so businesses and entrepreneurs who have left the region understand why they should return. Unfortunately, this seeing does not exist today, and the public is not involved in the "Revival Plan": "Because of the lack of this seeing, we are losing the people we will need during the restoration. They simply do not see prospects. Where it will be no work, people will have nowhere to return to."

Pavlo Yarmii believes that it is essential to establish cooperation between businesses, public organizations, and the authorities to restore the Kherson region. Today, the authorities are doing their job, but they need a strategic vision of how to return the population, attract investments, and use them effectively. Civil society organizations can play an essential role in recovery, but they must also be involved in developing strategies. Pavlo Yarmii emphasizes the importance of communication between the various players to avoid fragmentation and create a unified force for recovery.

"I would advise the authorities to trust public organizations more. Those who are still in the territory of Kherson region, communicate more with them and give them more opportunities to do certain things in which they are more effective than the government," says Pavlo Yarmii.

Creating a consortium of public organizations will help us join forces to attract international projects and resources. This will allow us to perform at a higher level and become stronger in the recovery market.

"If today we cannot unite and jointly launch projects on our territory, then we will simply lose; we are already losing the opportunities we have. There are already quite a large number of projects that could be implemented in the Kherson region, but taking into account the fact that we do not have strong teams with a large and good background, that we do not have enough effective specialists who could implement these projects, we are losing this projects. We need to work together today, and this "together" can give much more. We must become a great player, and we can become a great player when we have strength and a team."

Pavlo Yarmii emphasizes that restoring the Kherson region will be difficult without joint efforts. Cooperation between business, government, and public organizations is the key to success in this matter. Only together can we overcome difficulties and restore our region.