News from 2022-10-05 / KfW Development Bank
Emergency aid for internally displaced persons in Ukraine as part of the EU4Skills project
KfW Development Bank supports the accommodation of refugees in schools with a good EUR 1 million
As part of the EU mandate "EU4Skills: Better Skills for Modern Ukraine", KfW Development Bank is promoting the modernisation of vocational education and training in Ukraine - even after the Russian invasion. However, the programme has been adapted: construction work in occupied areas or those near the front line has been stopped, while work continues in relatively safe locations. And: about 1600 internally displaced persons - families and also orphans from contested areas - are being accommodated in nine vocational schools. Dormitories are being set up there and equipped with the bare necessities: in June 2022, 492 beds, 400 mattresses and mattress covers, 680 pillows and blankets, 1,710 sets of bed linen, 19 washing machines, 18 refrigerators, 12 microwaves and 14 multi-cookers were delivered. Sounds banal - but for the refugees, this makes "everyday life" possible.
The project's executing agency - the "Ukrainian Social Investment Fund" - also plans to provide emergency aid to the institutions to renew the quality of the educational process: necessary equipment, materials for laboratories, workshops, etc. worth a total of EUR 350,000 will be purchased. This is because companies in Ukraine will be dependent on a qualified workforce both during and after the war. Only a modern vocational training infrastructure is attractive for students and creates the basis for effective, needs-based training.
A total of 15 vocational schools are to be modernised as part of the project. The schools focus on agriculture and the production and processing of agricultural products, industry and mechanical engineering, construction and utilities, and transport and communications. In addition, there are training courses for the textile industry, shoe industry, CRAFT technologies, folk crafts and handicrafts, as well as for household and catering services. The budget from the EU mandate is EUR 19 million.
Dr Anna-Maria von Roda, Portfolio Manager in charge at KfW Development Bank, on a very recent development: "Today I received another request from the Ukrainian Ministry of Education for another IDP Emergency Package. The dormitories of the "Nova Odesa Higher Professional Agrarian Lyceum" school serve as accommodation for 38 IDPs and 19 orphans. As part of the short-term support, the school will receive equipment such as mattresses and boilers for the winter season. We are pleased to see how flexible and efficient we can be in such a situation as part of the project."
