Nova Vodolaha Territorial Community

History

The history of the Community dates back to 1675. It was then that Kharkiv colonel Hryhorii Donets founded the settlement of Nova Vodolaha. The quadrangular fortress became a reliable defence facility against Turkish-Tatar aggression. The Moravian Way passed through Nova Vodolaha, and the inhabitants of the settlement suffered a lot from Tatar raids.

The residents of Nova Vodolaha were engaged in skinning, making belt harnesses, sewing shoes, clothes and hats. Other common occupations included distilling, gardening, making agricultural tools, carpentry and cooper’s products.

The availability of a deposit of valuable clay stimulated the development of pottery production.

In the second half of the 18th century Nova Vodolaha became the centre of sericulture in Slobidska Ukraine.

In 1938, Nova Vodolaha became an urban-type settlement and a district centre.

During the Second World War, on 19 October 1941, Nova Vodolaha was occupied by the enemy. On 14 September 1943, the Nazi occupation of Nova Vodolaha came to an end. Its consequences were tragic both for the settlement and for the district in general. Seven thousand Nova Vodolaha residents fought on the frontline, and about three thousand died in battle.

2017 was a memorable and decisive year for the residents of Nova Vodolaha as the Nova Vodolaha Settlement United Territorial Community was formed, becoming the fifth community in the territory of the Kharkiv Region.

Economy and Welfare

There are several large enterprises working in the territory of the Community, which are known even beyond Ukraine: Novoselivka Mining and Processing Plant extracting quartz sand (operating since 1938), Svitanok Agricultural Firm breeding cattle of elite breeds, RIAL Meat Processing Plant producing meat products.

The Nova Vodolaha Community runs twelve general secondary education institutions, fourteen kindergartens, including seven preschool units.

In the field of culture, there are nine culture centres, four village clubs, a library with seventeen branches, a Museum of History and an art school. Talented hobbyists and folk artists represent the Community in Ukraine and abroad, organized events before the full-scale invasion, and now focus their work to help the military by organizing charity concerts.

There is also an inclusive resource centre working in the territory of the Community, which provides services to children aged 2 to 18 years.

Medical care for the residents of the Community is provided by the Nova Vodolaha Central Hospital and the Primary Health Care Centre; a new family medicine outpatient clinic was built a few years ago.

Community and War

In the first days of the full-scale invasion, the Community rallied and began to help the military. The Nova Vodolaha Settlement Council purchased eleven drones, which were handed over to the military.

Charity fairs are regularly held in the Community to raise funds for the needs of the military. Children’s and adult bicycle races have been organized. Children participated for free, adults – for a donation. Funds raised at the event were used to purchase a car for the military.

Another charity event to raise funds and buy cars for the military took place in the lavender park located in the village of Novoselivka. Guests were able to admire the park, take a boat ride in the reservoir, enjoy delicious dishes, and take photos. The Rodyna volunteer group organized the lavender festival, and Oleksandr Yesin, head of the Nova Vodolaha Settlement Council, organized transportation.

Volunteers of the Unbreakable team conducted a Code of the Nation photo session on two occasions.

As part of the charity project #makepizzanotwar, the Nova Vodolaha Community was visited by a mobile pizzeria. Volunteers baked pizzas in a specially equipped van in the Jubilee Park and served it to everyone who wanted it.

More than 1,500 residents of the settlement offered a hot pizza. This project is implemented by volunteers of the Scottish Siobhans Trust Ukraine Foundation with the support of the Zaporizhia-based M.R.I.A. Charitable Foundation.

The Nova Vodolaha Community is sure that it is their duty to build a strong rear while the soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fight the enemy on the front lines. And they confidently say that they will help as long as there is a need.

People of the Community

Free garbage removal is organized for residents of the private sector; minor repairs and overhauls of roads are carried out every year, and in recent years special attention has been paid to the construction of sidewalks and asphalting of courtyards of apartment buildings. In the Community, the Public Works Service has been established, so the settlement is always clean and tidy; there is a well-kept park – a favourite place of recreation for the residents of Nova Vodolaha and guests of the Community centre. In order to protect the environment, containers have been installed for collecting plastic covers, which will then be sent for recycling, and the proceeds will be used to support defenders.

Eleven football pitches with artificial grass and a multifunctional playground for sports have been built; twenty-five sets of outdoor sports equipment have been installed.

About seventy playgrounds have been installed for children (in particular, equipment for children’s and sports playgrounds was purchased in 2022 using the funds of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine together with the Association of Cities of Ukraine).

They have purchased four cars for family doctors. In the Nova Vodolaha Central Hospital, modern renovations of the premises have been carried out, and a palliative department has been opened.

As a result of the partnership with the German Society for International Cooperation GIZ, they have opened a rental centre for technical and other means of rehabilitation and a Social Hairdresser Salon. After the full-scale invasion, international partners, namely the United Nations Development Program, helped create a Mobile Social Service to provide in-kind assistance services at home. The Harmony service for transportation of persons with disabilities and persons with musculoskeletal disorders also operates at the territorial centre.

Development Strategy

The Community has its development strategy for 2018-2025, which was developed with the support of the U-LEAD with Europe Program.

The development strategy is the hallmark of the Community and was developed in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and the Sustainable Development Goals of Ukraine until 2030.

The purpose of the Strategy is to ensure local sustainable development by improving the quality of life of the Community residents, attracting investments, increasing the competitiveness of the economy, developing tourism, restoring and preserving the environment safe for life, and rallying the Community around the idea of sustainable development of the Nova Vodolaha area.

Appropriate conditions are created for the comfortable life of residents in order to achieve the strategic goals. The Community has bought fifteen communal machines, which are used to remove garbage from private houses free of charge; has opened a kindergarten, has built an outpatient general practice clinic of family medicine, has built ten mini-football fields with artificial grass and one multifunctional playground.

Much attention is paid to the involvement of residents in the decision-making process. For instance, the Participation Budget has been functioning since 2018, thanks to which more than forty projects initiated by the residents have already been implemented. In 2021, the School Public Budget was introduced, and thirty-six projects were implemented.

The Youth Council created as part of the implementation of the Strategy for Strengthening Youth Policy in the Community takes an active part in the Community life. Great attention is paid to the national and patriotic upbringing of the younger generation. The teams of the Nova Vodolaha Community have been the winners of the Dzura military-patriotic game at the Ukrainian national level on several occasions. And the Nova Vodolaha Settlement Dzura Youth Club was recently registered in the Community.

Sources

• Website of the Community: vodolaga-gromada.gov.ua
• Facebook: facebook.com/vodolaga.sel.rada