Five rockets destroyed the school. Report from Bereznehuvate

Bereznehuvate is a settlement located 97 kilometers northeast of Mykolaiv. Since the beginning of the great war, the village has suffered a lot of destruction, because it was located literally ten kilometers from the demarcation line of hostilities, which led to serious destruction of both educational institutions and private houses. As a result of the explosions, residents lost their property, and most of them were forced to seek temporary shelter in workplaces or with relatives.

How people live here now and rebuild their homes after the destruction, the correspondents of NikVesti tell in the report «Life in communities».

They want to rebuild the destroyed school

One of the objects that was destroyed at the beginning of the war was the local school — Bereznehuvate Lyceum, which was hit by five Russian rockets. The destruction of the school is so serious that it is impossible to restore the building, explains the director of the lyceum Halyna Rudchyk.

«As you can see, the building is completely destroyed. We counted five rockets that hit the territory of the school and completely destroyed it. Such destruction was caused that cannot be restored by capital construction. In the building of the elementary school, next to the study room, we had a bedroom for first-graders and a playroom where the groups of the extended day are located,» says Halyna Rudchyk.

In addition, many private houses and infrastructure facilities were damaged in the village. According to data for December 2023, the community received 1,200 complaints about destroyed and damaged objects, says Serhii Boyko, head of the Bereznehuvate community.

How do residents of Bereznehuvate restore their homes after shelling?

Nataliia Horbonos, a resident of one of the dozens of damaged houses in the village of Bereznehuvate, said that her house was heavily damaged due to shelling.

«Immediately they heard the sounds of shelling as if far away, but then a cluster projectile flew into the house and hit near the bed. I was nearby at that moment. The man received shrapnel wounds. Thank you for being alive. Everything was broken, everything was in holes in the yard and in the house as well. We received funds for housing repairs under the «eVidnovlennia» program,» Nataliia Horbonos shares her memories.

As of December 2023, 101 checklists for the amount of 9 million 727 thousand hryvnias were drawn up under the recovery program for the repair of houses. People whose homes were damaged have already received funds and are rebuilding their homes.

Another resident of the damaged house in the village of Bereznehuvate, Nataliia Nemenko, said that her home was also damaged by Russian shelling. During the strike on August 24, 2022, the rocket hit a yard between two neighboring houses, but the power of the blast wave reached their home as well.

«The depth of the funnel from the impact was more than 10 meters. Two houses were completely destroyed and neighboring houses were also damaged. Our roof was destroyed. «Due to the fact that it had been raining for almost three days, our ceiling began to collapse, so we tried to patch the holes in the roof with pieces of slate,» says Nataliia Nemenko.

Then Nataliia and her husband were forced to move to the house where the woman's mother lives, but three weeks later there was also an attack. After that, they decided to live in a working office.

Within a few months, the couple received funds from the «eVidnovlennia» program, and they began replacing windows and doors in the damaged house.

«In general, compensation funds are allocated only for material, and not for work. We paid 60,000 hryvnias just for the roof to be repaired. After our house was destroyed on August 24, we live in an office and sleep on bunk beds with my husband, while my grandmother sleeps in the same room, where there are no windows. We turn on the electric battery for her, and she sleeps like that,» says Nataliia.

Government plans for 2024 regarding the restoration of schools and water supply

Serhii Boyko, head of the Bereznehuvate community, says there are enough problems in the community. But at the same time, he notes that the priority of the community for the current year is the reconstruction of schools and the construction of shelters. In addition, the community plans to solve the problem with water supply.

«By 2024, the priority is the reconstruction of general educational institutions, the construction of storage facilities on the territory of schools. We also plan to solve the water supply issue this year. Many towers are out of order, they were built back in the days of the collective farm and have not changed. In the village itself, the aqueducts are also in a very bad condition. Thanks to volunteer organizations, we are able to partially replace them. I think this year we will work on it as much as possible,» summed up Serhii Boyko.

Despite the heavy shelling suffered by the community of Bereznehuvate as a result of military operations by the Russian occupiers, the work to restore the affected social objects is a priority. The local authorities are sure that this will help create safer conditions for the development of education and children of the community as a whole.

We previously reported that the lyceum damaged by shelling in Bereznehuvate will be demolished and a new one will be built: project documentation will cost 9.6 million hryvnias. in general, 199 million 492 thousand 388 hryvnias are planned for the new construction of the Bereznehuvate Lyceum. This is one of the 12 objects of the Mykolaiv Oblast that were damaged as a result of Russian aggression, which claim 1 billion 960 million hryvnias from the Fund for liquidation of the consequences of armed aggression

In addition, more than 26 million hryvnias are planned to be spent on the overhaul of the Bereznehuvate gymnasium №1 of the Bashtanka district. The technical documentation states that the builders must repair the ceilings, walls and roof. We are also talking about the repair of bathrooms with the installation of the necessary equipment, arrangement of sewers, installation of new doors, etc. In addition, the educational institution provides an evacuation management system. At the end, the contractor has to prepare the area and plant trees and bushes. All works should be completed by the end of 2025.