An Honest Dialogue about Challenges and Prospects: ARRKO Focus Group in Borodianka Community

How do you rebuild a community that has become a symbol of destruction and loss? Where do you start when not only infrastructure has been lost, but also the sense of safety?

Answers to these difficult but extremely important questions were sought during a focus group in Borodianka community, held by the Kyiv Regional Development Agency as part of its series of meetings with Kyiv region communities.

The goal was not simply to record the problems, but to deeply explore local needs, find real, viable solutions and, most importantly, to hear the community itself. The meeting was moderated by Valentyna Poltavets.

The community’s main challenge is recovery from the destruction. More than 48 private houses have been destroyed beyond repair. The house of culture was smashed to pieces, and with it, the space for cultural life disappeared. Sports infrastructure, educational institutions and social facilities all require not just repair, but a rethought approach to reconstruction.

Despite this, the community is already moving forward. Thanks to partners and charitable organisations that have got involved, including the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, construction of a new police station has begun and the cultural centre is being restored.

Special attention is deserved by the museum of the occupation, created by residents themselves — enthusiasts with immense inner resourcefulness. This space preserves not only the artefacts of war, but also the dignity with which the community endured the occupation.

During the focus group, several strategic directions for further development were outlined:

• Infrastructure recovery — primarily facilities for education, culture and safety.
• Engaging young people — a painful topic, as many people have left, and the community wants to create conditions for their return.
• Developing recreational potential — Borodianka has a convenient location, good logistics, a significant number of water bodies and forests, and clean air. This creates preconditions for health and resort initiatives.
• Investment opportunities — particularly in the field of natural resources.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the education department, the employment service, the civil society sector, the NGO “Dobro”, as well as specialists in international cooperation and investment. All of them are united by one thing — the desire to see Borodianka not just rebuilt, but strong, vibrant and modern.

Borodianka community is not just a point on the map where fighting took place. It is a community that remembers, recovers and works towards the future. Here, people understand that reconstruction is not about facades, but about meaning, people, connections and a new quality of life.

We sincerely thank the community’s leadership, representatives of business, education and culture, and all meeting participants for an honest, in-depth dialogue. It is precisely this kind of openness that is the key to development.

The focus groups are being carried out with the grant support of the International Renaissance Foundation.