“Conversations about Restoration” with Zorie Ganiieva about a community that knows how to not only survive, but also advance

The name Chornobaivka has become known all over the world. In 2022, news and social media outlets featured it as a symbol of the unbroken Ukrainian military, which had repeatedly defeated the enemy. But behind this loud image, there is another Chornobaivka - a living community of ten settlements, where people continue to fight for their future.

Here, people face the challenges of war every day: shelling, destruction, lack of resources, and lack of roads. However, at the same time, hope is born here - in reconstruction, in cooperation with donors, in the determination of people to stay home and build their lives further.

We spoke with Zorie Ganiieva, Head of the Municipal Initiatives and Investments Department of the Chornobaivka Village Council, about how the Chornobaivka community lives, the challenges it faces today, and its vision for the future.

Today, the work of the Municipal Initiatives and Investments Department is more relevant than ever. This Department writes and submits grant applications, communicates with international donors and public organizations, coordinates projects for the restoration and development of the community, and searches for opportunities to attract investments. Now it is more challenging to do this, given the competition.

“The Chornobaivka community for me is all 10 settlements. My task is to unite these settlements and consider the needs of all community residents, not just those of Chornobaivka, the administrative center. Now it is becoming more difficult, as not all of our project applications receive positive approval. Recently, there has been intense competition. This is good because we see that there is development, there are people who understand project management better, and they want to implement their ideas. And this is even competition within the community between those who view their problem as much bigger and believe it should be solved faster with the help of our partners, rather than relying solely on the resources available to local authorities. Our goal is not only to attract resources, but also to ensure that they meet the real needs of people," says Zorie Ganiieva.

Thanks to this work, the community receives not only financial support but also new management experience, which will strengthen its resilience in the future. But, despite the positive developments, many difficulties remain. And in each settlement within the community, they are different - somewhere there is no gas supply, while elsewhere there is no water or electricity. Therefore, the issue of recovery for the Chornobaivka community is a priority, despite the security situation, which, unfortunately, remains challenging in some settlements. Cooperation with donors is key to accelerating recovery. Zorie Ganiieva notes two critical trends: first, donors are increasingly giving preference to local organizations that work directly within the community; second, communities with public organizations that have a history of successful work have a better chance of success in grant competitions.

“Until 2022, the Chornobaivka community had no experience working with international donors. Today, projects are being implemented here that were previously unimaginable. At first, the phrase “war is a new opportunity” was a trigger for me. How can you see something positive in war? In fact, new opportunities have appeared for Chornobaivka. People stay in the community because they see changes,” shares Zorie Ganiievai.

We asked Zorie Ganiieva how the community cooperates with public organizations and charitable foundations. According to her, many NGOs are currently working with the community, and this cooperation gives very positive results. However, she emphasizes that there must be effective communication and understanding of the community's needs, as well as the ability to convey these needs to the donor.

“The community is people. I always say this. We can do more together,” says Zorie Ganiieva, answering the question about how the Chornobaivka community involves the public in the recovery processes. The community has had a Working Group on Public Safety and Recovery for two years, which has become a tool for social cohesion and a platform to gather opinions from representatives of various sectors, enabling the prediction of future outcomes.

“We should not stop. Because if the community stops implementing certain projects, this is immediately visible in the support that is distributed there for future periods from various donors. If today we cannot implement a project in one settlement, we will do it in another and cover the needs there,” says Zorie Ganiieva. “But we need to distribute funds wisely and not put people in danger. Everyone must take some responsibility for what is happening in the community. Without people, we cannot cope. It is true.”

The vision for Chornobaivka’s future is ambitious yet realistic. Zorie Ganiieva believes that the Chornobaivka community has all the prerequisites to become a logistics center of southern Ukraine: “The location of Chornobaivka is perfect - on an important highway, near a railway, a river, and the sea - it creates favorable conditions for the development of all spheres.” The community can become a place where investors and tourists feel welcome, making it a comfortable environment in which to live and work. At the same time, there are areas for rest and peace, where you can be alone with your thoughts. The history of Chornobaivka dates back more than 2,000 years, underscoring the region's deep roots and its potential for future development.

The history of Chornobaivka is not only a story of destruction. It is a story about a community that knows how to rebuild even under shelling, that learns to cooperate with donors, that does not wait for a miracle, but acts.

Behind the world-famous name stands an entirely different face - the face of people who do not give up. They stay home and prove: a community is not a territory or a building. A community is a group of people who work together to create their future.

We invite you to participate in an anonymous survey to help us better understand the moods, needs, and challenges faced by the population of the Kherson region, and to assess the effectiveness of the work of public organizations and authorities. Each of your answers is a crucial brick in the foundation of your future recovery. Your answers are completely anonymous and will be used exclusively in a generalized form for analytical purposes.

The interview has been produced by the Kherson Regional Charitable Foundation “Union” with the support of the European Endowment for Democracy (EED). Its contents do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of EED. Responsibility for the information and views expressed in this publication lies entirely with the authors.