Voucher scheme holds hope for families in eastern Ukraine

Two sisters, 11-year-old Tania and 13-year-old Nadia, smile happily as they pick out new school supplies at their local village store in eastern Ukraine.

“I picked out a good sketchbook, a notebook and everything for drawing,” says Tania, excitedly. “At recess, I always draw in my notebook.”

After nearly eight years of conflict and the recent COVID-19 pandemic, having a voucher for these supplies is a huge relief for their mother, Inna.

“This is a big help for our family,” she says. “That’s as much as my monthly salary.”

The voucher is thanks to the support from the European Union and partnership between UNICEF and Triangle Generation Humanitaire, which has given over 660 families with schoolchildren in eastern Ukraine the ability to buy school supplies as well as other vital necessities.

So far, support with educational supplies to the schoolchildren was extended to 31 communities along the ‘contact line’ in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and become a lifeline for families like Inna’s, who will be able to buy enough supplies to last the school year.

“This is a big help for our family”

Inna lives with her husband and three daughters in the village of Hranitne, less than one kilometre from the contact line in eastern Ukraine. Like many here, Inna and her family are suffering the humanitarian and economic consequences of nearly eight years of armed conflict. The COVID-19 pandemic has only further exacerbated their situation.

“Now it is difficult to find a good job here,” says Inna. “There are no big enterprises and no appropriate transport connections to go to another city for work.”

Inna has managed to find a job at a local shop, while her husband fixes cars. But the pay in this area is low and, while Inna grows her own vegetables to cut down on grocery bills, the family is constantly forced to skimp to save money.

So it was a huge relief for Inna when she received a message on her phone to tell her she had received an electronic voucher.

“We received a voucher for hygiene and cleaning items and school supplies for the children in the amount of 4,200 UAH,” she says.

As well as supplies, the voucher also means the family will be able to use the money they have saved to buy coal and firewood to heat their home.

“It will be cold in winter, and coal is very expensive now.”

“There are military operations nearby all the time”

The girls’ desk sits in the warmest and brightest room, closest to the stove. Today, Tania is excited to try out her recently purchased, brightly coloured stationery.

“My classmates ask me why you need all this stuff in a pencil box, all those pencils and pens,” says the sixth-grader. “But everything comes in handy.”

Her older sister Nadia has chosen paints, felt-tip pens and pencils. Due to the conflict and the pandemic, she is used to studying from home.  

“There are military operations nearby all the time,” she says. “That’s why I couldn’t even go to the first grade. I started fully visiting school from the second grade. In the first grade, my dad would go to the teacher and take my class work home for me.”

The conflict has left its mark on almost every building in Hranitne. Parts of the school, which Nadia and Tania attend, have been reduced to rubble and a nearby house on their street stands in ruins. Even the shop where the girls did their shopping shows signs of shelling.

“At the beginning of the war, when there was heavy fighting, we had to close the shop,” says the owner, Tetiana. “Now we have repaired the facade and hope for stable work.”

On top of Tetiana’s shop counters are brochures from UNICEF, which explain how to receive and redeem the vouchers. Tetiana says that participating in the programme as a partner shop has been a huge support for her business.

“I was very happy to be selected for the programme,” she says. “We have sold hygiene and cleaning supplies before, but stationery was ordered specifically so that families with children could exchange it for vouchers.”

But the vouchers not only offer supplies. They also offer hope for the future, for businesses like Tetiana’s and the thousands of families who receive them.

“Beyond the fact that the programme means support for small businesses, I just feel happy to see children in the shop.  They do need these items to continue with their study and leisure like the other children,” says Tetiana, with a smile.

The electronic vouchers funded by the European Union for vulnerable families with children could be exchanged for educational  supplies, books and arts sets as well as many other items that children usually need for their learning and well-being. UNICEF and its partners set up a network of nearly 130 partner stores located in all isolated areas along the ‘contact line’ – where fighting is still the most severe –  so families could be immediately reached with essential supplies in emergency settings.

With European Union humanitarian aid,  UNICEF also continues providing access to safe learning for girls and boys on both sides from the ‘contact line’ through provision of hygiene supplies, learning materials, restoration of schools and capacity building of teachers as well as the support to the Government of Ukraine in implementation of the Safe Schools Declaration commitment.

UNICEF and partners also continue reaching children and their caregivers with psychosocial support and case management provided through a wide range of services.