When people talk about Kherson and the Kherson region, they most often talk about the crisis: shelling, evacuation, humanitarian aid, and life under constant threat. Because the security situation here remains very difficult, the need for a quick response is daily. But does this mean that Kherson should focus only on crisis response projects, and that discussions about development and recovery are premature?
Even in areas under shelling, people need more than just humanitarian kits or emergency aid. They need spaces for children and psychological support. They also need teams that know how to work with the community, know the context, and stay close.
This is exactly what we are talking about with Olha Kartashova, the head of the regional direction for interaction and community development (Kherson region) of the Civic Organization The Tenth of April, in the new episode of "Conversations about Restoration".
The Tenth of April NGO has been working in Ukraine since 2012. Its representative office in the Kherson region was opened after the occupation of Crimea and the Russian aggression in the Donbas. Then, among the main areas were monitoring, legal consultations, and legal aid. After the de-occupation of Kherson in 2022, a new direction of work began - humanitarian response. But, as Olha Kartashova explains, even then, the organization tried not to work spot by spot but rather comprehensively. They started with psychological, social, and community support. Then legal consultations and document restoration were added, and very quickly it became clear how massive the need was. Then the areas of combating gender-based violence and child protection appeared, and later, crisis response after shelling.
“Since last year, another important component has been added - restoration in communities that are closer to the Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions. And there, the approach is not so crisis-oriented. Nevertheless, social support, psychological assistance, and legal consultations are all relevant. Our work with communities and initiative groups has grown into work with communities,” adds Olha.
Since the Tenth of April NGO works in both the humanitarian and development sectors, we asked what is more difficult: “These areas overlap a lot for us. The Kherson region is both 'zero' and communities that need restoration. It is clear that the priority remains the crisis response to the contact line. But nevertheless, funding can provide impetus for such development projects,” says Olha Kartashova.
Kherson needs not only a crisis response. And people working on the ground see clearly: this alone does not cover the needs. Both Kherson and the communities of the region need development projects - albeit small, but real ones. Such that gives people support and a feeling that life has not stopped at just survival.
Olha Kartashova says bluntly: it is impossible to work without cooperation with administrations. On the one hand, these are the requirements of some donors; on the other, the cluster approach, which is also based on communication with the authorities in one way or another. And it is in the Kherson region that this cooperation, according to her, often turns out to be simpler than in other regions: "Local administrations understand well: they cannot survive without the public sector. Therefore, now it is only assistance; it is a specification of requirements. Administrations agree to what the donor offers them. And we try to take advantage of every opportunity. We work in 10 regions of Ukraine, and we have something to compare with."
There is no classic model here with a deputy corps, lengthy approvals, and many levels of decision-making. In many cases, there are military administrations, and one or more people actually make decisions. On the one hand, this makes the system complex. On the other hand, it simplifies communication: the entry point is clear, and decisions can be made faster.
But even with normal interaction, the main problem remains the same - a lack of people. Administrations cannot always cover everything required of them, even if they are ready and willing to cooperate. At the same time, bureaucracy has not disappeared. On the contrary, the requirements for documentation, reporting, and procedures have often increased, while the number of people has decreased. And this, of course, affects both efficiency and psychological state, as well as the ability to plan work properly.
“Small budgets of communities also significantly affect the capabilities of communities. Even if there is a good project and a donor is ready to step in, co-financing is often needed, which the community simply does not have,” adds Olha. Because of this, communities are sometimes forced to abandon even the necessary projects - not because they do not want to, but because they physically cannot pull their part.
To understand the real needs of the community, The Tenth of April NGO involves facilitators - local people who work part-time: "And this is fundamentally important: they live in the community, know the context, have trust, understand what really hurts here." It is through them that the organization often learns what people really need. They help conduct surveys, gather residents from different groups, and not just the "usual active audience" that is always present at meetings. There are legal facilitators, outreach facilitators, and social facilitators, and each of these areas helps to see a more complete picture. This is very important for the Kherson region, because from the outside it may seem that the problem is immediately visible. In fact, without local people, it is very easy to simplify or misunderstand it.
A few years ago, there were simply no public organizations in some communities of the Kherson region. Today, there are already initiative groups there, and in some places even registered NGOs. Often, coordination is indispensable, which is why hubs that unite several public organizations appear: “We try to help young organizations, support them so that they can continue to work independently,” says Olha Kartashova about cooperation with other organizations.
A separate and very painful topic is the work of organizations based outside the Kherson region. Formally, they can write in their applications that they will work in the Kherson region. But, as Olha says, this alone is not enough. The problem is that without understanding the local context, such work often proves ineffective. That is why Olha Kartashova constantly emphasizes: donors should support local organizations. Those who are physically present in the region are constantly working on the spot, know how the situation is changing, and can keep the work stable even when everything around is unstable. If the organization is not based in the Kherson region, it should at least have real experience working here, completed projects, and an understanding of local specifics. Without this, any “remote assistance” risks being superficial.
Local teams work almost continuously. They combine crisis response, support for people, recovery initiatives, donor communication, reporting, internal policies, and training. And, according to Olha, they often remain underfunded: “Without support, no organization will be able to work. Large donors must understand systematically that if it is Kherson, it is not taboo. And I am not even talking about the entire Kherson region, but about the city of Kherson. In fact, this is the largest such agglomeration in the Kherson region, where people still live, combining crisis response and development stories. And we need to convey that this is not only about evacuation. There is still a lack of training for humanitarian workers. And, of course, there is a lack of simple rest for employees of organizations - just two days of silence, green trees, and the opportunity to sleep.”
Perhaps one of the most important parts of the conversation is whether it is possible to plan a full-fledged restoration of the Kherson region at all now. Olha Kartashova says: we need to look at the situation with cold eyes and not feed people with empty promises: “The words “we will rebuild” have not worked for a long time. People always respond to honesty. Plans are definitely needed. Just not one, but several: optimistic, pessimistic, and basic, according to which you can really move. Strategies are needed, and we need to concentrate on working with people unequivocally, because without people, there will be nothing.”
The state and regions often talk about the return of residents. But in practice, the picture is more complicated. Those who left in 2022 or 2023 have already arranged their lives elsewhere. Children went to other schools, someone entered the university, someone no longer sees themselves in the village or city from which they had to leave. And if the house is destroyed, then there is often simply nowhere to return. Therefore, says Olha, we must work first of all with those who remained: "First, they are now making a wise choice by their very presence that they are staying in this territory. They are ready to live here. This is a very important condition. They are ready to do something for this territory within the limits of what they have. Even by living here, they are already forming this community. It is with them that we need to build the future. Of course, people will return, but not everyone will be ready to stay."
At the end of the conversation, an image of the future of the Kherson region appears. Olha says the region has already changed. And in the coming decades, we will probably not see it as we knew it before: "There will be no more floodplains, the same feeling of the Dnipro River, the picture with which many associated the dream of the region. But there is something else. The Kherson region is a land of free people. And, perhaps, this is its strongest future image."
