Repair Facilitation Ukraine (REFAUK)

The Russian invasion in February 2022 has led to large scale destruction, loss of lives and population displacements. The REFAUK program responded to urgent Shelter and WASH needs of conflict affected persons in Ukraine. The program focuses its operations on heavily affected areas in 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.

Helvetas had the lead of the program, contracting Skat Consulting to provide conceptual and technical backstopping. DESPRO NGO was selected as local implementer of the activities. Skat has accompanied the program through three phases, including a Preparatory Phase (June-July 2022), Phase 1 (August-December 2022) and Phase 2 (January 2023-January 2024). 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.

Links to products, websites

Helvetas Begins Reconstruction in Ukraine | Helvetas,
(20+) DESPRO | Facebook
Study on Circular Construction in Ukraine