Repair Facilitation Ukraine (REFAUK)
The REFAUK is a humanitarian aid program in Ukraine aiming to support conflict-affected communities to deal with the repair and upgrading of damaged houses, IDP shelters and water systems. The initiative is lead by Helvetas and implemented in collaboration with the local DESPRO NGO. Skat is providing technical backstopping and implementation support, especially for the water system and housing repair projects but also for a pilot initiative on circular construction. Besides its expert input on program conception and implementation strategies, Skat develops working tools, technical guidelines and thematic studies.
Country:
Ukraine
Project Period:
Preparatory Phase June-July 2022
Phase 1: August-December 2022
Phase 2: January 2023 – January 2024
Services Provided:
Technical backstopping for the conception, implementation and evaluation of the program, i.e. for the housing repair, water system rehabilitation and circular construction components
Name of Staff involved and functions performed:
Manuel Henseler, Water & Shelter Advisor (Lead backstopper)
Daniel Wyss, Construction Advisor
Mirco Keller, Water and Sanitation Advisor
Name of Client(s)
Helvetas
(Program funding by Swiss Solidarity and Swiss Development Cooperation)
Name of Partner Organisations:
Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation
DESPRO NGO
Description of the Project:
Context
The full-scale war that broke out in Ukraine after the Russian invasion in February 2022 has led to large scale destruction, loss of lives and population displacements. At the start of the war, IOM reported that over 7.7 million people were internally displaced within Ukraine, many of which were facing challenges to meet their basic needs. In areas directly affected by military confrontations, immense damage has been inflicted on public and private infrastructures. According to estimations over 817,000 residential units were impacted by the war, 38% of them destroyed beyond repair. Since Ukraine’s water, energy and heating systems were specifically targeted, many citizens lost access to basic services.
Overall objective and geographic scope
The REFAUK program responds to urgent Shelter and WASH needs of conflict affected persons in Ukraine. The program focuses its operations mainly to heavily affected areas of Kyiv and Kharkiv Oblasts but also provides shelter and water assistance to municipalities in Ivano Frankivsk and Ternopil Oblasts, who host significant numbers of IDPs.
Program history and partner setup
The REFAUK program was launched in June 2022, when Helvetas, Skat Consulting and DESPRO NGO decided to join forces and support the response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. Helvetas was taking the lead of the program, contracting Skat Consulting to provide conceptual and technical backstopping. DESPRO NGO was selected as local implementer of the activities, thanks to their extensive experience in the capacity building of municipalities and rehabilitation of public infrastructure in Ukraine.
The program started with a Preparatory Phase (June-July 2022), implementing first water and IDP shelter projects in western Ukraine. In the following Phase 1 (August-December 2022) these activities continued, while launching water and housing repair activities in Kyiv Oblast. Phase 2 of the REFAUK program (January 2023-January 2024), expanded these activities to Kharkiv Oblast and introduced 3 new components, aiming at the creation of an enabling environment to local reconstruction efforts.
The volume of the program has grown steadily to over 3.4 Mio CHF (excl. PAA) in Phase 2.
Main objectives and activities (Phase 2)
1.) Living conditions of IDPs housed in selected collective shelters are improved to humanitarian standards
The project shall refurbish selected collective centres and equip them with WASH, kitchen, heating facilities in adequate numbers and quality.
2.) Conflict affected, and hosting communities have sustainable access to safe water
Damaged water supply systems directly linked to the consequences of the conflict and considered critical to upkeep service provision are rehabilitated.
3.) Directly affected households protected from the elements in winter season
Single household houses from Kyiv and Kharkiv Oblasts are repaired/winterized using a cash for repair approach. Apartment blocks are repaired through contractors. Collective heating points are equipped with materials and generators. A guideline document is elaborated on damage analysis and repair to support house owners, contractors, and other involved actors.
4.) Communities can operate in an enabling environment facilitating local repairs and reconstruction initiatives
Repair hubs and a grant system shall be set up to support small-scale community-led initiatives and catalyse repair efforts. A circular construction yard shall be established in Kharkiv area to support a selected municipality in facilitating the extraction, exchange and reuse of building material.
Results and Skat services
Overall, the REFAUK program has achieved significant success. In Phase 2, a total of close to 80´000 people benefited from the program. 15 IDP shelters and 23 water systems were repaired or improved. 296 households had their dwelling repaired.
Until the recruitment of a Helvetas Project Manager in September 2022, Skat coordinated the conception, setup and launching of program activities. From then on Skat focused its services on technical backstopping and quality assurance of the program, mainly in support of the water system rehabilitation, housing repair and circular construction projects.
For the housing repair component, Skat developed the methodology and working tools. A cash approach was used, which is relatively light in logistics and allows to reach large beneficiary populations. To assure quality of works, Skat supported the DESPRO team in the elaboration of damage analysis and repair guidelines, which are shared with house owners, contractors and other involved actors. The cash-for-repair methodology has proven effective in the field and the component’s objectives of Phase 2 were fully achieved.
Based on its experience from other countries, Skat also developed the programs concept for the circular construction yard and advised DESPRO NGO, and later Zero Waste Kharkiv, in the implementation of this component. This pioneering pilot project was set up in Ruska Lozova, north of Kharkiv, a region heavily affected by the conflict. The initiative demonstrates that many rural residents are interested in the reuse of building material and that with some support, circular construction can support local reconstruction efforts. In order to assess the potential of circular construction in Ukraine more holistically, Skat also lead the elaboration of a study on the topic. The study was published in March 2024 and can be accessed below.
