Location
Nemyriv, Vinnytska, Ukraine
Community Description
Nemyriv is a town of approximately 12,000 people, located 40 km south of the regional capital of Vinnytska and several hundred kilometers southwest of Kiev, adjacent to the Pivdenny Buh River. It serves both as a regional administrative center and the headquarters to the world-famous vodka producer Nemiroff.
The town is also home to a sanatorium, a place Ukrainians come to rest in the summer in lieu of more expensive vacations, two public schools, a technical college that serves youth from surrounding communities, an orphanage, and countless private businesses.
As in many Ukrainian towns, sanitation in Nemyriv is not a public service, but rather a business. Citizens must pay hefty prices for trash removal, which has resulted in many opting out of the service, instead of dumping household waste on the edges of town, over the sides of ravines, and increasingly into the city’s natural, undeveloped areas.
The local reservoir serves as the source of drinking water for residents and visitors, in addition to being a commonly visited fishing hole and summer swimming site. It is a health and environmental hazard, as it is polluted by trash and debris.
Project Description
The project will be to remediate the condition of the local reservoir by removing litter and pollutants from its banks
The clean-up effort is being organized by the Leadership Youth Club from the local technical college. These 15 and 16-year-olds will organize volunteers to clear the banks of debris, and remove the trash that clogs the reeds and other vegetation at the water’s edge.
The students will use project funds to purchase a number of items in order to make the clean-up a success, including gloves, heavy-duty plastic bags, boots, and tools for removing litter from the reeds and picking up used toilet paper and other hazardous materials. In addition, the money will be used to pay for the safe removal and transport of the pollutants collected.
This is the leadership group’s first major undertaking. Through this project, they will call attention to the environmental and health problems of the city, and begin to implement practical solutions.
Project Impact
The 12,000 residents of Nemyriv will benefit directly, as will the scores of people who visit the sanatorium each summer.
Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Valerie Ullrich
Comments
This project is a major step toward empowering the youth of the community to attack environmental and health problems. By cleaning the contaminated water source, they will not only alleviate unhealthful conditions, but will also make a visible statement that self-organization and community action works to improve conditions.
Dollar Amount of Project
$500.00
Donations Collected to Date
$0.00
ADOPT THIS PROJECT BY CONTRIBUTING THE DOLLAR AMOUNT NEEDED BELOW
Donations of any amount will be appreciated. The full amount will give you “naming rights”, if that is something you would like.
Any contributions in excess of the Dollar Amount of the Project will be allocated to other projects directed by this PCV and/or projects of other PCVs in this country.
Dollar Amount Needed
$500.00
This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.