Rebuilding Ukraine — lexspects

A pre- and post-repair photograph of a residential building in Kyiv that was damaged on the first night of the invasion. Source: @ministry_of_defene_ua/@ukrinform

Since the beginning of the war, Russian leader Vladimir Putin has used attacks on civilian infrastructure, housing, and other facilities to create suffering and attempt to scare Ukrainians into submission. These attacks costed 97 billion American dollars in damages, as of just September.

In addition to roads and public transportation, a lot of housing and civilian buildings are in need of repair. Ukraine gets about as cold during the winter as we do here in Lexington. I don’t know if you’ve ever lost power for more than a day during the winter, but you -and your house- get really cold really fast. Imagine your home being that cold for days or weeks at a time. That was the case for 1.5 million people in Odesa this past December. As we move further into winter, the cold could prove very dangerous.

Can you imagine your house getting destroyed, with everything in it going up into flames? Rebuilding is a daunting task, not to mention incredibly expensive. You’d be lucky to end up staying with neighbors or family friends while repairing your house. “Lucky” as in lucky to be alive because your home has been destroyed. But even if you move in with someone, there’s no knowing how long this arrangement will last. Access to materials can be delayed by the war, and it’s quite possible that your money went up in flames when your house did. Even if you can find the money for repairs, and even with all the materials available, there is no time to wait for, say, the concrete to harden. The top floors of some buildings just can’t be built before winter, so their residents face homelessness if they can’t find a place to live.

Some people are “lucky” enough that volunteers help repair their homes when they can’t repair them themselves. One organization that’s gotten a lot of support recently is Repair Together, a movement that brings busloads of volunteers in their twenties and thirties from Ukrainian cities into rural villages, where the older residents do not have the strength or resources to fix their destroyed homes. During peacetime, these volunteers would dress up and go to parties on the weekends. Now, they blast music as they shovel rubble and lay bricks. Sometimes, they dress up and invite DJs or other musical artists to accompany them as they work (and dance) on more significant projects. These “repair raves” are livestreamed on social media such as YouTube and Instagram, and have gathered followers from all over the world. Their leader is Tetiana Burianova. Before the war, she planned parties and social gatherings. Now, she organizes music, meeting sites, and cookouts for her volunteers.

Repair Together Volunteers at work. Image Source: NPR

Repair raves involve a lot of physical labor, but to many volunteers, they are a welcome escape from the grimness of the war. Liza Kochbei, a volunteer interviewed by NPR, explained, “There are seven days a week — five of those days we read the news, and get really sad. And two days a week, we gather together and get distracted by work,” Even when they meet people with heartbreaking stories and see the destruction caused by Russian missiles, volunteers are simply grateful for an opportunity to help.

In addition to being an escape for Ukrainian volunteers, the relatively fun nature of Repair Together may ensure that Western donors continue supporting the organization, even as the war drags on. Recently, they launched the “Winter Is Near” project, which raises money through the help of famous people, livestream viewers, and local volunteer foundations and businesses. For example, Repair Together is rebuilding the house of a single mother with two kids by partnering with a local coffee chain that buys a brick for every pack of coffee beans sold. Initiatives like these support local businesses while helping innocent Ukrainians regain at least a partial sense of normalcy. Repair Together has also launched a global project called “The Stones,” which places posters in cities all over the world. On September fourth, volunteers placed bricks from destroyed buildings onto the posters, reminding people far away from Ukraine that although they can move on with their lives and forget about Putin’s violence, millions physically cannot.

So far, Repair Together has cleaned up over 160 destroyed homes in twelve villages, and fully repaired the houses of twenty families. They’ve cleaned up cultural sites and community centers. And they’re still going.

“We are making a new Ukraine,” Buryanova told reporters for The Guardian. And yes, with the daily onslaught of air raids and other violence, volunteers might not be able to rebuild homes as fast as Russian missiles can destroy them. But what they can rebuild is a sense of community and resiliency. And when their national identity is literally under threat, that might be more resistance than you think.

Want to help? Check out the Repair Together website, or their Instagram, which includes this video explaining their recent projects. To learn more about the hope and resilience this organization spreads, check out this video. (Content Warning: Mentions of death and violence, images of destroyed buildings, and realistic-looking toy guns.)