Ukraine: Home repairs, heating, and water throughout winter
Clean water and heating during winter
The war has impacted the whole of Ukraine, however, not always in the same way. In the Mykolaiv-region, the Norwegian Church Aid has worked together with local authorities to repair pipework infrastructure, reinstating access to central heating for 160,000 persons.
“Access to central heating and electricity is absolutely essential for a functioning society.”
Official, Mykolaiv-region
Several villages in the Kherson-area face similar challenges. In some areas all the water towers, pumps and pipework infrastructure were destroyed. By the end of 2023, the Norwegian Church Aid had secured access to clean water to eight villages.
“That we now can access clean and safe water means so much to us. It means that we can live here, and that people can slowly start to move back.”
Inhabitant, village in the Kherson-area
Prefabricated homes on your own plot of land
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) supports families whose homes have been damaged or destroyed by the war. In case of minor and non-structural damages, families can receive support to restore the habitability of their homes by repairing windows, roofs and walls. If the house is destroyed beyond repair, and according to a set of criteria, including vulnerability, the families can be provided a locally produced prefabricated housing unit, manufactured by Ukrainian suppliers. The ‘core home’ is a self-contained, fully furnished house which can be placed directly on the family’s plot of land. The core homes are part of UNHCR´s "solutions from the start" approach, ensuring that the families can stay in their local community, not being forced to relocate from their homes and familiar environments.
Repairs for families who return to their homes
Following the liberation of temporarily occupied areas families can return to their homes. The Norwegian Refugee Council supports families whose house has been damaged and is in need of repairs. The support is given in the form of cash-based assistance which can be used to purchase the materials needed for the reparations as well as through direct support from building contractors.
One family managed to install a new roof, windows, and doors. The family also restored brickwork in a room damaged by artillery and rebuilt the destroyed boiler room.
Much work remains, but the house is important for the family. As one family member states:
“This is my home, my country. We are needed here: we need to work, to raise the economy. But we believe in the best.”
As of February 2024, the Norwegian Refugee Council had provided repairs of 121 buildings across the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions of Ukraine.
Repairs and briquettes
In the Kharkiv-region, 205 households have received support to repair damages to their homes and fuel for heating from Caritas. Before the repairs start, Caritas sends an engineer to map the damages. Often these include windows and doors which need to be changed and roofs which need to be weatherproofed to keep the heat in during winter. In addition to having changed over 450 windows, Caritas has also carried out smaller repairs to apartments housing single parents, elderly, persons with chronical illness and persons with disability.
It is not only homes that have been destroyed by the war. In the liberated areas in the Kherson-region large parts of the forests are covered with mines. This makes it impossible for people to search for firewood in the area. Therefore, briquettes to use for cooking and heating, provided by Caritas, are welcome and much needed during winter.
Renewable energy solutions for clean water and heat
When infrastructure has been destroyed, it is important that access to clean water and energy is restored as soon as possible. Adnan Al-Kori is deployed by NORCAP to the International Organization for Migration in Ukraine to work with these challenges, with a particular focus on renewable energy.
“For example, we work on installing small to medium-sized water pumps powered by solar panels to get water from holes and suppling it to people who've had to leave their homes because of the conflict.”
Adnan, NORCAP
It is also important to ensure warm homes for the cold winter in Ukraine. Adnan provides expertise on heating plants that can use different kinds of fuel like wood, waste from farming, natural gas, or special fuel made from waste crops called biomass. These solutions not only help keep homes warm, but also increase environmental sustainability and resilience across the country.
The results stories on the webpage of the Nansen Support Programme for Ukraine are based on texts produced and shared by the civilian and humanitarian partners of the programme. The stories represent a snapshot of the results achieved to showcase the difference the Norwegian support is making.