• Saturday

    15 February, 2025

  • -3.8°
    Partly cloudy

    Mykolaiv

  • 15 February , 2025 Saturday

  • Mykolaiv • -3.8° Partly cloudy

«We didn't even hope»: how Radisnyi Sad lyceum was restored

The war has had a significant impact on the educational institutions of Radisnyi Sad community, located 20 minutes south of Mykolaiv. According to Yurii Pinkovyi, Radisnyi Sad village head, three of the four lyceums in the community were damaged: Radisnyi Sad, Nova Bohdanivka and Kozyr. The Radisnyi Sad lyceum suffered the most damage on 13 March 2022 as a result of several enemy air strikes near the institution.

«The attacks were not on the building itself, but around it, with a total of about 6 strikes recorded. The lyceum was hit from each side. The fence, the facade of the school, classrooms were damaged, and there were shrapnel holes in the windows and walls. In several classrooms, the debris literally flew into the corridor», Yurii Pinkovyi told us in a comment.

In addition, Svitlana Volodko, the lyceum's director, noted that the debris damaged furniture, blinds and lighting in eight classrooms and two offices. Office equipment, including computers and televisions, was also damaged.

Наслідки російських обстрілів поблизу Радсадівського ліцею, фото надали редакції «NikVesti»Consequences of Russian shelling near the Radisnyi Sad lyceum, photo by NikVesti provided by Nataliia Mokrytska 
Наслідки російських обстрілів поблизу Радсадівського ліцею, фото надали редакції «NikVesti»The aftermath of Russian shelling near the Radisnyi Sad lyceum, photo by NikVesti provided by Nataliia Mokrytska 
Наслідки російських обстрілів поблизу Радсадівського ліцею, фото надали редакції «NikVesti»The aftermath of Russian shelling near the Radisnyi Sad lyceum, photo by NikVesti provided by Nataliia Mokrytska 

Read more about how the Radisnyi Sad Lyceum, which has 140 students, was restored in the article NikVesti.

Why was the repair of the Radisnyi Sad lyceum not even planned?

The situation of restoring lyceums in the community was complicated by the fact that they did not have the proper shelters necessary for children to study safely. That is why they did not want to restore the Radisnyi Sad lyceum at all, as it did not have even the simplest shelter.

«Initially, the only plan was to rebuild the Nova Bohdanivka lyceum. It had the simplest shelter that met the requirements of the SES. However, our community managed to persuade donors to support other lyceums as well», said Natalia Mokrytska, head of the education department of the Radisnyi Sad community.

Subsequently, Yurii Pinkovyi and Nataliia Mokrytska met with UNDP representatives and, according to the latter, persuaded them to include Radisnyi Sad lyceum in the repair programme, promising that the shelter would be built at public expense.

«We cooperated with the Department of Education and Science of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, which was looking for international donors on its own. Later, we received a call from UNDP representatives who informed us that only one of our institutions, the Nova Bohdanivka Lyceum, was eligible for the programme, as it was the only one that had a conclusion from the SES that it could use the shelter. However, when the UNDP representatives came to us, we organised a meeting with the head of the community, Yurii Ivanovych, where we managed to convince them of the need to restore two more damaged lyceums. After a week of waiting, we received a positive response, and this allowed us to restore all three educational institutions», she recalls.

Оновлений фасад Радсадівського ліцею, фото: Анни Гакман, «NikVesti»Renovated facade of the Radisnyi Sad lyceum, photo: Anna Hakman, NikVesti
Оновлений фасад Радсадівського ліцею, фото: Анни Гакман, «NikVesti»The renovated facade of the Radisnyi Sad Lyceum, photo: Anna Hakman, NikVesti

«We didn't even hope, but thank God we got help»: how UNDP and the EU contributed to the lyceum's renovation

The Radisnyi Sad Lyceum was rebuilt by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine with financial support from the European Union. A total of 14 million 817 thousand 317 hryvnias was spent on the reconstruction of the building. In addition to the construction work, the school received new furniture: 30 desks, 30 chairs, one blackboard and one cabinet.

«First, the roof was repaired, as it had been damaged. Almost every classroom was overhauled: the electrical wiring was replaced, thresholds and doors were renovated, and the hall on the ground floor and most of the classrooms and corridors on the second floor were arranged. In addition, we restored the facade of», said Yurii Pinkovyi.

The works covered most of the second floor, where the high school and middle school classrooms are located, as well as partially the premises for primary school.

«There are about 15 classrooms that have been completely restored, that's for sure [...] We didn't even hope, but thank God we got help from», Nataliia added.

Нові меблі, надані ПРООН, для комфортного навчання учнів Радсадівського ліцею, фото: Анни Гакман, «NikVesti»New furniture provided by UNDP for the Radisnyi Sad Lyceum, photo: Anna Hakman, NikVesti
Нові меблі, надані ПРООН, для комфортного навчання учнів Радсадівського ліцею, фото: Анни Гакман, «NikVesti»New furniture provided by UNDP for the Radisnyi Sad Lyceum, photo: Anna Hakman, NikVesti
Нові меблі, надані ПРООН, для комфортного навчання учнів Радсадівського ліцею, фото: Анни Гакман, «NikVesti»New furniture provided by UNDP for the Radisnyi Sad Lyceum, photo: Anna Hakman, NikVesti

Safety first: why do lyceum students study in a kindergarten?

For more than two years now, students of the Radisnyi Sad Lyceum have not been able to study in their home classrooms, even after the reconstruction work was completed. The reason is the lack of a shelter, which is essential for safe learning. According to Natalia Mokrytska, Head of the Education Department, the state has allocated 19 million 149 thousand 400 hryvnias for the construction of the shelter. The project is scheduled to be completed by the beginning of summer 2025, which will allow lyceum students to return to school.

However, since the new shelter will only accommodate 100 students, they are forced to study in two shifts. Currently, for the fifth month, they have been studying in a local kindergarten equipped with a radiation shelter for a thousand people.

«To enable the Radsadivka Lyceum to switch to full-time education, we «moved it to the premises of a local kindergarten. This kindergarten is the largest in the community, with an area of 3,500 square metres. Previously, the kindergarten was only partially filled: only 38 children studied in two groups, and half of the premises were not used. Parents were actively involved in the ongoing repairs, and at the expense of the local budget, we completely replaced the electrical wiring, lighting and renovated the bathrooms. It is worth noting that the building is designed for 12 groups, each of which has a separate exit, bathroom and washbasin, which is very convenient», said Nataliia Mokrytska.

Оновлений Радсадівський ліцей, фото: Анни Гакман «NikVesti»Renovated Radisnyi Sad Lyceum, photo: Anna Hakman NikVesti
Оновлений Радсадівський ліцей, фото: Анни Гакман «NikVesti»Renovated Radisnyi Sad Lyceum, photo: Anna Hakman NikVesti

What's next?

According to Nataliia Mokrytska, the return to offline education was an important step for the adaptation of lyceum students and the resumption of the educational process.

«It was an adaptation period for us, just like for children who move from kindergarten to primary school or from primary to basic school. The children really forgot what a school is,» she says.

According to Svitlana Volodko, 50% of the teaching staff are lyceum graduates. She believes that employing lyceum graduates is a strategy that ensures stability:

«Human resource potential means stability and confidence in any circumstances. Engaging graduates in work is our strategy. Today, the lyceum employs nine of our graduates, which is 50% of the teaching staff».

Директорка Радсадівського ліцею Світлана Володько в оновленому коридорі школи, фото: Анни Гакман, «NikVesti»Svitlana Volodko, principal of Radisnyi Sad Lyceum, in the renovated corridor of the school, photo: Anna Hakman, NikVesti

After two years of online learning, the children were once again able to communicate directly with their teachers and classmates. Nataliia Mokrytska emphasises that this year, for the first time, the lyceum took part in the second district stage of the All-Ukrainian Olympiads and showed good results.

In the future, when the construction of the shelter is completed, Radisnyi Sad Lyceum will be able to host its students again. In the meantime, the educational process continues in the kindergarten.

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