At the beginning of March, an off-campus seminar in Slavutych was organized for students of the Faculty of Sociology and Law at Igor Sikorsky Polytechnic Institute who are pursuing degrees in Social Work. The city is currently preparing to host commemorative events marking the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster. The seminar therefore focused on introducing students to life in this 40-year-old city, which was built specifically to accommodate workers of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
According to the event organizer, Ihor Meshchan, Associate Professor of the Department of Philosophy at the Faculty of Sociology and Law and Director of the Department of Social Protection of the Population of the Kyiv Regional State Administration, the trip to Slavutych—the young city located farthest from the capital, almost 200 km from Kyiv—gave students an opportunity to explore the city and learn about the work of the “Blahodar” Center for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Children and Persons with Disabilities. They also observed how the experienced local staff provide a comprehensive range of social services.
During a meeting with the Center’s management, the students learned about the institution’s operation under the crisis conditions caused by the russian-Ukrainian war. The students from Igor Sikorsky Polytechnic Institute were particularly interested in the challenges faced by the staff of “Blahodar” during the occupation of Slavutych from March 26 to April 3, 2022. “Social and psychological services were provided continuously. They continue to be provided during complete blackouts caused by russian attacks on Slavutych using unmanned aerial vehicles and ballistic missiles,” the trip organizer notes.
“Thanks to cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Kyiv Regional State Administration,” Ihor Meshchan also explained, “the reconstruction and refurbishment of 87 social apartments for internally displaced persons in Slavutych is nearing completion.” This development also attracted the attention of the Faculty of Sociology and Law students.
The trip participants will also remember their visit to the exhibits at the Slavutych Local History Museum. One of its halls is dedicated to the history of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. It features documents, photographs from the plant’s history, displays dedicated to the aftermath of the disaster, and a model of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant industrial site with the “Shelter” structure.
Other halls tell the story of Slavutych, its construction, and its development. The museum also has an ethnographic hall showcasing the results of local history research conducted by the institution’s scholars. Another room displays household items used by residents of Prypyat before the tragedy at the plant.
“The trip to Slavutych allowed us to see firsthand how people who have united in overcoming the major challenges they have faced in life have managed to professionally organize social work, cooperate with government and municipal institutions, and support one another,” says Oleksandra Kanova, a student in the SR-51 MP group. “And they do all this to improve the quality of life of the city’s community as a whole. Many Slavutych residents have experienced what it means to ‘start life over.’ Slavutych continues to stand strong despite the challenges of our turbulent times. What impressed me most was ‘Blahodar’—a place where you can feel the professionalism and care of social workers for the people in their care, as well as the understanding that our future is in our own hands.”