Vgoru, en Route to Social Responsibility

At the top of the front page of the newspaper Vgoru (Upward), one finds the ambitious motto “high journalism.”  The words speak for themselves, and fully reflect the content of a newspaper that has most everything – from analytical articles and investigative reports, to event coverage, photo profiles and interviews with interesting people, comments from prominent political and government figures. Just read the headlines to get a sense of what the paper is ready to address: Kherson in Mafia Clutches, What is Oblast Prosecutor’s Office Hiding, Children are in Fashion Again. One of the three most popular printed media in Kherson Oblast, Vgoru is considered to be the second most influential paper in the region. One of the few competitive NGO publications in Ukraine, Vgoru is run by two NGO publishers – Kherson Oblast Charity and Health Foundation, and Pivden (the South) Kherson City Association of Journalists.

Ten thousand copies of the independent social and political weekly sell briskly at the newsstands, and from curbside vendors; rolling off the presses every Thursday and sold out by Sunday. This extraordinary demand for the paper has been achieved through objective and balanced coverage, accessibility and a non-partisan political approach. After five years of arduous work, the Vgoru team has managed to turn its paper from merely a source of information into a medium that provides advice and consultations, protects human and civic rights, and addresses the problems that are faced by the regional community.

“Back in 1998, when we started Vgoru, the media in Kherson Oblast was providing biased coverage, particularly in anything that dealt with advocacy and human rights. The views presented in their articles were too bleak – they did not show any way to resolve problems, and they did not expose corruption. Journalists did not demonstrate how people can oppose this corruption or human rights violations, or how they can influence government. More than that – the Oblast’s journalists did not have any idea what the “third sector” (NGO) was, or how it worked. ” explained Vgoru’s Editor-in-Chief Alla Tiutiunnyk.

An approach and principles that were radically different from those shared by other local press guided Vgoru. For NGOs, the paper became an opportunity to show what people can do once they are united, and how problems can be resolved by legal means.  The road to becoming independent and self-sustained was not easy. But thanks to Charles Mott Foundation, who supported the newspaper from the beginning and UCAN/USAID that keeps providing support partially  in 2003 and 2004, Vgoru obtained the ability to rise to its feet and move toward financial independence The newspaper increased its circulation, created new sections, and began to concentrate more on long and costly investigative reports by its journalists. It also improved its focus on advocacy, became more business efficient, and started its own advertising and distribution departments.  And, most important, it helped the staff to ignore the temptation to “sell out”,  and supported them in adhering to journalistic and legal standards. The paper owes much of the trust it has developed and earned among its readership to the high standards it maintains; and it is confidence and respect that it cherishes most.

Since Vgoru is trusted like no other regional paper, people come to its offices looking for help and advice.  They also write a lot of letters. For  instance, six officers from local police precincts recently told the paper about abuse in the region’s police force, including among senior officers who forced subordinates to plant drugs or weapons on people to move investigations along and improve prosecution success rates.  Lately doctors, prosecutors and business people who no longer want to give or take bribes, and are committed to building a rule-of-law, have increasingly besieged the newspaper with their views.

On October 2, 2006, Vgoru will be celebrating its fifth anniversary.  A small coalition organized five years ago to fight corruption, do investigative journalism and mount advocacy campaigns today has nine member NGOs, and a newspaper that seeks to resolve specific concerns and safeguard the rights of community members who have come to think of it as a friend, and a source of good advice.

Young Ukrainians Work Together to Help Those in Need

Youthful enthusiasm and energy can be unlimited. But to tackle society’s problems, especially on the local level, defend one’s rights, or to initiate systematic and lasting changes, resolution alone is not enough. Experience and knowledge is also a prerequisite.

The pan-Ukrainian youth organization, “Youth Can”, decided to channel the boundless energy of youth to bring about positive changes in society. The Ukraine Citizen Action Network helps to fund Youth Can which uses educational tools and practical experience to assist active Ukrainian youth to initiating such changes.

The first step in this endeavor is the annual summer Rah-Rah camp that lasts a week involving up to 100 motivated young adults from all over Ukraine. Each camp participant undergoes a rigorous training program by choosing five out of ten classes: leadership, civic responsibility, journalism, gender politics, sexual health, critical thinking, sports, ecology, tolerance, or debating. Young people do group exercises and acquire basic skills in designing and implementing projects from problem identity and analysis to control and valuation. They plan projects together, which they actualize upon returning to their hometowns.

This year’s camp added a new exciting element. The goal was to eliminate the stereotypical barriers between students and teachers. Sixty teachers from boarding schools, students from poor families and school teachers were invited. Over the course of eight days, the youth’s eyes changed right before everyone’s eyes – they were filled with so much enthusiasm and energy. The youth started believing in themselves. They strived to learn and create in order to return home as young leaders, as active and full members of society. They became confident that they could accomplish anything and it was easy to believe them!

“The most important thing in camp is to teach young Ukrainians how solve small problems in their communities on their own,” says the charming and inspired camp director, Kateryna Ardanyan. Once the camp ends, the youth not only work individually or in teams to solve problems they identify themselves, they also participate in intensive trainings conducted by managers of the project. They became part of a larger network, which offers them the opportunity to exchange experience and information. They gladly take part in these seminars, projects, and even some participate who have never been in the camp. Over 50 young boys and girls did project work throughout Ukraine on a volunteer basis.

One highly successful project last year was the effort by young Kyivites who planned various activities and exercises including holiday activities for a children’s home. Over 100 books were donated, a camera, movies, and just days before St. Nicholas Day, 80 kilograms worth of clothes and toys were collected for the young orphans as well as funds secured from philanthropists. This is but one example of the 14 successfully implemented projects last year, which included more 1,100 people from every Ukrainian region which give youth valuable practical experience in building a stronger civil society and fostered change in their communities.

Citizens Protect the Carpathian Mountains

The Carpathians is a unique ecosystem that stretches for 1,500 kilometers across seven countries. The ecosystem in the Ukrainian portion of the mountains is the worst and is known throughout the world for the destructive 1998 and 2001 floods. The mountainous area is plagued with problems: illegal logging, chemically contaminated soil, polluted rivers, illegal toxic emissions from surrounding factories, inaction in preserving the biodiversity of the environment. Even worse is the paralysis of mountain residents who are incapable of solving the above-mentioned problems due to their low socio-economic standing – poverty, unemployment, low-level of environmental awareness, and they are ignorant of their rights. The situation is compounded by the fact that the environment protection and local laws are flawed as they lack the necessary mechanisms to effectively protect the environment. This includes improving the system of fines, the work of environmental inspectors, and a strong centralized government. This has lead to passivity among local residents, who don’t realize the value of being personally involved in improving their surroundings, and lack the skills, know-how, and basic information in solving local problems.

“Ecoshere”, a regional environmental youth coalition, took the mantle of uniting community efforts in solving some of the problems facing the Ukrainian portion of the Carpathian Mountains under the project framework, “We Shall Protect the Carpathians with Community Efforts”.

Communities were inspired to solve local problems with the creation of an information-consulting network of territorial communities using local resources. Interested and active representatives of local governments, village schools, CSOs, and journalists were chosen from four mountainous regions: Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattya, Lviv, and Chernivtsi. The participants of the consulting network compiled, analyzed, and disseminated objective information about the state of the surrounding environment as well as took pictures and made videos of the problems. The materials were then submitted distributed to regional media outlets. The information dissemination campaign witnessed 20 radio and 8 TV shows, and 37 newspaper articles on the Carpathian problem. As a result, the media blitz inspired residents to take action and pushed the government to do something about the environment.

In addition, 10 educational films about the problems facing the Carpathians were made with film material edited from the videos not to mention 4 printings of an information-analytical bulletin titled, “Hromada” (Community).

The Ecosphere project produced three two-day training seminars for community representatives of the surrounding area on: “Access to environmental information and the protection of citizens’ environmental rights”; “Experience in resolving local community problems in the Carpathian region”; “Community monitoring of the state of the surrounding environment”. Legal consultations were given to twelve clients while general consultations were given while conducting informational campaigns to community representatives. Consulting topics included environmental law, which increased the level of awareness within the Carpathian population.

In all, 23 communities solved specific local environmental problems. In one such case, in a village located in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, two bituminous plants were shut down for causing excessive pollution; in another case, a district government used specific measures to safely seal and store pesticides. Additionally, a conflict was resolved between residents of another village and logging activities taking place there.

These activities started a chain reaction as local communities started to implement sustainable development strategies, submitting grant proposals for various project such as, rural and green tourism development, innovative plumbing systems for mountainous villages, using “green” electricity, developing and promoting local products, etc. Finally, local community and government leaders drafted a proposal for the Ukrainian Parliament to consider in the areas of increasing local budgetary revenues by giving local governments more autonomy on taxation, which would allow local communities to more effectively solve their problems. The analytical document contains 12 articles for consideration on improving local government.

The Fountain of Hope

According to official statistics, nearly 3% of children in Ukraine require psychiatric help (almost 300, 000 Ukrainians are diagnosed with “mental retardation”). In contrast with other European countries, Ukraine has chosen to isolate these children from society including from their parents: legislation leaves few alternatives for state-run boarding houses where up to 7-9 children are situated per room.

Psychiatrist, Ihor Martsynovskyi asserts that “Should society decided to isolate everyone unlike themselves, with certain infringements, then there won’t be enough people to take of them. There won’t be enough hospital orderlies, doctors, and there won’t be enough money to do this even in the wealthiest society. The only way out of this mess – to learn how to live together”.

The “Dzherela” (fountain) charity society, headed by Raisa Kravchenko, initiated a coalition of 60 Civil Society Organizations to “protect the rights of invalids and individuals with intellectual deficiencies” with the goal of forming alternative government programs and strategies. During the joint Work session consisting of Ukrainian CSOs, Russia, Belarus, and Moldova in the Crimean city of Yevpatoria, representatives from the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers, CSO directors, and CIS countries for the first time worked together with mentally disadvantaged children, their parents, and caretakers during a session. To date, never have mentally disadvantaged people participated in such high-level meetings regarding the state of their future, especially when society has tried to keep them hidden from everyone else. Their participation (together with their parents) in a meeting of such high stature became an important and successful step in asserting their rights and integrating into society.

The jointly constructed 2005-2008 work plan foresees the opening of support centers for families with mentally disadvantaged children complete with medical and legal consultations, temporary care and professional help, as well as the creation of mini-dormitories for such families that would act as an alternative to boarding houses. In addition, proposals were submitted for review to the U.N. on forcing government officials to act on the behalf of mentally disadvantaged children in caring fore them (in complete shame) in front of the international community.

Already, in Kyiv, results are evident: the Kyiv City Council has approved a conceptual plan submitted by “Dzherela” to initiate a complex plan of social rehabilitation within the boundaries of the city for mentally disadvantaged children, which includes leasing space for the mini-dormitories to the Society as well as a Daily Employment Center. The premises were furnished with 14 sets of hotel furniture donated by German and Dutch businesspersons. In turn, Dutch students worked on furbishing the space during over the summer. The disadvantaged children are housed one or two per room at the dormitory and it is not uncommon for some to want to get married. Funding for the center is earmarked from the capital’s five-year multi-faceted program budget called “Turbota” (care). Today, the “Dzherela” initiated Coalition’s efforts are aimed at targeting the rest of the country.

The “Dzherela” initiated project accomplished a very important mission, that of forcing government officials, who essentially carry the fate of invalids in their hands, to tackle problems facing the mentally disadvantaged.