Estonia to support Ukraine’s efforts in building new family-type children’s homes for war-affected families

Estonia is one of the first countries that responded to the initiative of First Lady Olena Zelenska and joined the Childhood Address project. The project is designed to build new family-type children's homes for families who lost their homes due to the war.

"Currently, 362 family-type children's homes are forced to stay abroad, and about a thousand more migrate within the country. All these families need new housing," said the head of the group for inter-parliamentary relations with the Republic of Estonia, MP Arsenii Pushkarenko. "Within the initiative of the First Lady, together with Estonia, it is planned to build eight family-type houses in the northwestern Zhytomyr region over several years."

MP Pushkarenko added that the United Arab Emirates has already joined this national project to finance the construction of ten houses throughout the country." 

In the Zhytomyr region, the first family-type orphanage will be built in the regional center with the support of Estonia. Recently, Arsenii Pushkarenko and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Estonia to Ukraine, Kaimo Kuusk, inspected the site designated for construction by the Zhytomyr City Council. A family-type children's home will be built on the outskirts of Zhytomyr in a cozy place near the lake.

17 Ukrainian and Estonian architectural bureaus participated in the international competition for the best architectural project of the future building. As the Minister of Economy and Communications of the Republic of Estonia, Tiit Riisalo, announced on July 31, the winner of the architectural competition is the Khata project.

The area of the future residence will be about 200 square meters. Construction work is to begin this year, and next year the first large family will be able to celebrate the housewarming. Another children's home will soon be constructed in the Berezivka community, Zhytomyr district.

"The policy of the state that a child should be brought up in a family is unchanged, and the Soviet system of orphanage education must be a thing of the past. I am convinced that the new children's homes will become real homes for children who were left without parental care and for those who took upon themselves the responsibility of upbringing and giving warmth and love to children who have faced difficult trials," said Arsenii Pushkarenko.