“She can”. One story of how a community in Mykolaiv Oblast is rebuilding with support from UNDP and its partners

The Snihurivka community in the south of Ukraine bore the scars of eight months of occupation for a long time. Some remain to this day.

Those returning saw empty streets, destroyed schools, cold basements, looted houses without power and food queues. In autumn 2022, the community was returned to Ukrainian government control, marking the beginning of a gradual and stubborn recovery.

Four years of war have not only seen destruction and tragedy, but they have seen women stepping into tractor cabs to work the fields. They have seen teachers and children eager to return to their desks, medics who care more for their patients than themselves, police officers serving their home community, and young people finding the strength to grow despite the circumstances.

With support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine and international partners, the Snihurivka community is restoring more than just buildings; it is rebuilding trust, services, jobs and a sense of normality.

The greatest challenges that Snihurivka faces are economic, as they are related to a shortage of people and manual labour. To solve the problem and help the community, a programme was implemented to provide reskilling opportunities for adults. The idea was realized with support from UNDP and the Government of Denmark. The training was to take place at the local vocational lyceum.

Before the full-scale Russian invasion, the Snihurivka Professional Lyceum operated in a stable mode: in-person lessons, practical sessions in workshops and laboratories, industrial internships at enterprises and active leisure.

The war changed everything. The staff faced the task of restoring what survived and finding new ways of working that would meet the needs of the community.

“We essentially started from scratch. We lost documentation and property. One of the buildings that was destroyed by artillery shelling housed both the assembly hall and the canteen, and everything required restoration,” director Viktoriia Khomiakova said.

Although international organizations helped equip the space, when it comes to recovery the lyceum focuses not only on repairs but also on training. One such initiative is the training of women tractor drivers.

In the Snihurivka community, these women tractor drivers work in a field that was historically dominated by men. In times of full-scale war, when many residents stood up to defend the country, women took responsibility for work in the fields. Currently, they are ensuring the continuity of agricultural production and the community’s economic stability.

In April 2024, the lyceum opened a course colloquially known as “She Can.” Eight women mastered the craft, gaining new skills and partially moving into the field.

“The women who became tractor drivers had different motivations: some wanted a career change, some needed to provide for their families after losing a husband, but all sought to help others,” Viktoriia shared.

One of the graduates was Nataliia Steshyna. Previously, her family worked in poultry farming and later they had a small farm. Without hesitation, the woman came to the classroom again and mastered a new profession. She received a tractor driver’s licence and, with it, a job at a local agricultural firm. After divorcing her husband, she had to leave her own farm. Now she lives in Snihurivka and is focused on working in the field.

“Seasonal work involves different workloads. In winter, we follow a five-day schedule from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but during the sowing and harvesting seasons, working days are longer and shifts are required. At first, the team was sceptical about a woman behind the wheel, but over time we proved that we work on equal terms with the men,” Nataliia said.

During two years of work, Nataliia has learned a lot: both practical skills and the nuances of working in the field came with experience. The tractor driver notes that the Snihurivka community is gradually recovering, and people are returning. Although the shelling is not subsiding, the demand for agricultural specialities among women is growing.

The town faces constant demand for skilled labour. In response, the lyceum has been exploiting new solutions, including the launch of short-term courses for adults seeking to acquire construction skills, such as tiling, painting or plastering. 

The courses followed a practical structure, with 30 percent devoted to theory and 70 percent to hands-on learning. Participants gained practical experience by carrying out repair work at the lyceum itself: restoring walls, the roof and windows. They were equipped with modern power tools, professional finishing equipment and materials provided by UNDP.

“The new equipment improved the quality of training, shortened the adaptation period for graduates, motivated students and helped to increase the employment rate. The training became lively, modern and effective,” said vocational trainer Oksana Pyrih.

The students taught by Oksana, a teacher with 33 years of experience, include many adults. Before the full-scale war, they never thought they would have to master construction. These are veterans, displaced persons and locals who have lost their jobs and are trying to quickly learn a profession needed during the war.

“Here, every lesson is a contribution to reconstruction, every graduate provides real help to the community. The realization that you are teaching people who will tomorrow restore schools, houses and social facilities imbues the work with deep meaning and responsibility. It is important to ensure that lifelong education continues, and to create conditions for ongoing professional development,” Oksana emphasized.

Forty-year-old Valentyna Strelchenko is an accountant by profession. Until 2022, she worked as a senior operator at a petrol station. Because of the war, she lost her home in Snihurivka, her job and her normal life. The family with four children – the eldest son is 23 and the youngest daughter is 12 – moved to the village of Ievhenivka in the same community, where her husband’s relatives live. They found a small house that still needed work and repair. Over time, Valentyna’s children enrolled at the Snihurivka Professional Lyceum: her son to become a builder and her older daughter a pastry chef. The woman was also offered construction courses, and she did not hesitate for long.

“There is little work in the village, so I took on side jobs: whitewashing or plastering for someone. But I realized I lacked knowledge. I wanted to make sure I was doing everything correctly,” Valentyna explained.

On the courses, she started with the basics: how to prepare a wall, how to correctly prime a surface and how materials differ. She was most fascinated by decorative plastering.

“It wasn’t just theory – we practised everything with our own hands: cleaning cracks, attaching mesh, plastering, applying decorative layers and varnishing. We trained in the lyceum dormitory, which was being restored after being damaged,” Valentyna recalled.

Valentyna jokes that the eyes are afraid, but the hands do the work. She has plenty of work, as many houses have been destroyed in the village. After the summer fires that swept through Ievhenivka in 2025, she helped a fellow villager restore her house. Others have now queued up behind her. 

“Live and learn. Who else if not us?” she added.

This material was prepared as part of the flagship “EU4Recovery – Empowering Communities in Ukraine” partnership between UNDP and the EU.