The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
Ukrainian women leading their communities in times of crisis
Women in Mykolaiv are helping rebuild their homes and neighbourhoods, restoring both apartments and daily life even amid the ongoing conflict.
Since 2024, UNOPS has been working with the government of Denmark to restore three residential neighbourhoods in Mykolaiv. New windows and balcony units have been installed in over 1,000 apartments across 43 buildings, sports grounds have been upgraded, and common areas damaged by blast waves, restored. Thanks to accumulated savings, similar work has continued in seven additional buildings in Mykolaiv.
For residents like Olha, 71, and Anna, 40, the restoration has been more than just construction. It has been a way to protect and improve their home and community.
Olha and Anna lived in the same multi-apartment building for years, but it wasn’t until Russia’s full-scale invasion that they finally met. Their homes came under attack in the summer of 2022.
That night, on June 17, 2022, I woke up from a blast, and then something heavy fell on me. The window frame. My husband, who was in the kitchen at that moment, rushed to my rescue. I suffered a concussion and could not move.
“The apartment was a terrible mess, with window glass scattered everywhere. A gaping open frame instead of the front door. We lived without it for days. My son wanted us to move to his place, but how could we leave the apartment and the building unattended?” says Olha.
Many residents of this building fled as the Russian army approached Mykolaiv, leaving their apartments behind.
“Out of the 24 households in my block, only five stayed,” she says.
Anna and her baby daughter were among those who left temporarily.
When I returned, I could hardly recognize the building. Everything was boarded up with plywood, no balconies, slabs hanging… When I came into the yard, it was sadness and fear that I felt. Then, slowly, people started appearing; some were moving back.
Anna began appealing to city authorities and humanitarian organizations to restore electricity to the building’s dark, boarded-up entryway. Meanwhile, Olha and her husband organized neighbours to patch the leaky roof.
When UNOPS included their building in the Restoring Communities and Social Infrastructure project, Olha and Anna became focal points for engineers. They knew the residents, their contact details and who had stayed or left.
“Many people had not yet returned when the repairs started, but still wanted windows and balconies in their apartments replaced. To make the entire building more energy-efficient, it was important that no apartment was left with boarded-up or broken windows,” explains Olha.
Community leaders, like Olha and Anna, are crucial to the effort. Seeing their dedication and energy is truly inspiring.
“I was in touch with the apartments’ owners who entrusted me with their keys. When the work started, I’d hand out key sets to the UNOPS contractors in the morning and collect them at lunchtime,” she adds.
Today, UNOPS has completed the repairs, but the women’s work continues. Despite her full-time job in a pharmacy and caring for her daughter, Anna continues to improve living conditions in her community by preparing documentation for municipal programmes and initiatives from international organizations.
Olha, retired and with limited mobility, helps by collecting signatures from residents and organizing small improvements around the building, like planting flowers.
Housing restoration is just one part of the cooperation between UNOPS and Denmark. UNOPS is also stabilizing and restoring the historic Mykola Arkas Lyceum, and constructing shelters in selected schools across the city and region. All work is carried out by Ukrainian contractors, supporting local economic development, even as the conflict continues.
“Through our work, we are not only restoring buildings but also rebuilding community trust and confidence,” says Oleksandr Makovyey, UNOPS civil engineer. “Community leaders, like Olha and Anna, are crucial to the effort. Seeing their dedication and energy is truly inspiring.”
Global Goals we are supporting through this initiative:
