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Loknytsia Territorial Community
Rivne
Population:
The Loknytsia Community is situated in the north-western part of the Rivne Region. The total area of the Community amounts to 362.88 square kilometres. The Loknytsia Community consists of twenty rural localities.
As of 01 January 2024, the population of the Community totalled 5,125 residents.
Men: 1,943 residents
Women: 2,087 residents
Children: 1,075 residents
Internally displaced persons: 33 people (13 of them are children).
History
The administrative centre is the village of Loknytsia, the first mentions of the village date back to 1561. The name of the village probably comes from the Lithuanian word “lokys” meaning a bear or a bear’s corner.
The Antonivka-Zarichne narrow-gauge railway runs three kilometres away from the village, which is one of the seven wonders of the Rivne Region and the longest narrow-gauge railway track in Europe.
Currently, 1,033 people live in the village and there are 557 households.
The village has a communal institution “Loknytsia Lyceum”, a Culture Centre, a public school library, an outpatient clinic of general practice of family medicine, a post office, forestry, and four privately owned retail outlets.
Economy and Welfare
The leading place in the economy of the Community is occupied by agriculture and the agro-industrial sector. The main areas include the cultivation of technical and grain crops. Land cultivation is carried out by five agricultural companies in the territory of the Village Council. The industrial sector is represented by sawmill and planing production facilities.
The Loknytsia Forestry of the Vysotske Forestry branch operates in the territory of the Community.
In order to ensure the sustainable economic development of the Loknytsia Territorial Community, it is planned, in particular, to:
- Develop technical infrastructure.
- Develop tourism.
- Develop social services.
From the point of view of economic development, the Community can also be of interest to tourists who go on holidays to the lakes of Nobel and Zasvitske.
Three rivers flow through the territory of the Community and there are five lakes.
The Nobel National Nature Reserve functions in the territory of the Community with the aim of preserving, reproducing and effectively using the typical and unique natural complexes of Western Polissia.
The Community has an efficient education sector, for which the largest part of funds is allocated from the Community budget. The Community runs five institutions of general secondary education, five institutions of preschool education.
The voluntary fire brigade of Kukhche was formed in 2021 in connection with the participation of the Loknytsia Territorial Community in the project “Firefighters. Improvement of civil protection in Ukraine at the local level”.
The voluntary team includes twelve motivated residents of the Kukhche Starosta-Headed District, who expressed their desire to ensure the safety of the residents of the Loknytsia Community localities. They are always ready to rush to save someone’s life.
The volunteer firefighters will not receive a monthly salary and are usually the first to arrive at the scene of a fire. Just as the rescuers of the State Emergency Service, they are included in the plans for the involvement of forces and means of civil defence to respond to fires and emergency situations.
Community and War
When the war broke out, the residents of the Loknytsia Community went to defend Ukraine against russian aggression. Today, more than 129 men are defending Ukraine in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. To date, five soldiers from the Community have died and two soldiers are missing.
The residents of the Community not fighting on the front lines join various volunteer organizations and help our soldiers who are in the war zone.
Local volunteer Oleksandr Vakulich lives in the village of Radove and is the leader of the Christian volunteer team “Land of Joy”, with which he travelled and organized children’s camps until 24 February 2022, and delivered gifts from the Sunday School of the Radove Evangelical Church to children in Eastern Ukraine: Avdiivka, Sloviansk, Kostiantynivka.
Since 24 February 2022, he has made fifty volunteer trips, more than 350 tons of cargo have been delivered to the East of Ukraine, Bucha, Borodianka, Lviv Region, and Rivne (bread was delivered by car).
The volunteer team “Land of Joy” includes young people from Radove; the men make small pots, gather firewood, load aid into the truck, and the girls make salted soups, stew, tinned lard, bake pastries, etc.
Oleksandr Vakulich also uses charitable and sponsoring aid from abroad.
People of the Community
Loknytsia Village Council Head Petro Kharkovets was first elected in 2000. Since then, he has been re-elected seven times. He has been the permanent head of the village since the creation of the Loknytsia Territorial Community.
Under the leadership of the Village Council Head, the Administrative Services Centre was created in the territory of the Community in the village of Loknytsia in 2021, a kindergarten was opened in the village of Kukhche in 2011, an outpatient clinic was opened in the village of Kukhche, educational, cultural, health care institutions have been overhauled, the Hospitable Community festival and the Kukhche Day celebrations have been held.
Local businessman Mykola Marchuk has been helping his fellow countrymen and soldiers in the war zone since the beginning of the full-scale invasion by providing, in particular, automobile equipment, spare parts, etc.
Together with his work team and active residents of the village of Kukhche, the village of Radove, the village of Novosillia volunteers has prepared and delivered two trucks filled with firewood to the Kherson Region.
Mykola is a member of the Voluntary Fire Brigade in the village of Kukhche and actively participates in fire extinguishing work.
He has participated many times in training on providing first aid to victims.
Development Strategy
The strategic planning is the key to success of the Loknytsia Territorial Community. The Community Development Strategy has been approved for the period of 2020-2025.
The key objectives of the local authorities include:
– Improvement of Community infrastructure (lighting, roads);
– Development of tourism.
– Modernization of educational institutions.
– Development of culture and sports.
List of Sources
- Interviews with the Community representatives;
- Official website of the Loknytsia Community
- Facebook group page of the Loknytsia Territorial Community
- Blogger
- Wikipedia
- Facebook page of the Antonivka Narrow-Gauge Railway (Polissia Tramway)
- Wikipedia: Nobel Prize Laureate