The family-style children’s home of Kateryna Dolghova in Lviv has once again opened its doors to her large family. After a fire last year that caused extensive damage to the house, it has undergone major renovation and is now once again a permanent home for the foster mother and nine children.
According to Lviv City Council, the fire broke out due to a faulty electrical system. One of the rooms on the second floor was completely burnt out, and almost the entire building was damaged by the flames, heavy smoke and the water used to extinguish the fire. At the time of the blaze, the children and their foster mother were outside, so no one was hurt.
Because of the consequences of the fire, the family was forced to leave the house temporarily. While the repair work was underway, the family lived in a large flat of another family-style children’s home, with accommodation provided by the Ridni charitable foundation.
The renovation of Kateryna Dolghova’s house was comprehensive: damaged rooms, engineering systems and interior finishes were restored so that the home would once again be safe and comfortable for a large family to live in.
The main works were financed by the UNICEF office in Lviv, which provided more than UAH 4.5 million. In addition, the Children’s Services municipal department of Lviv City Council allocated more than UAH 250,000 to purchase household items and necessary equipment.
Head of the municipal Children’s Services department, Volodymyr Frydrak, highlighted the scale of the house’s restoration and the support of partners, stressing that everyone involved understood how important it was for the children and their foster mother to return to their own home as quickly as possible.
Head of the UNICEF office in Lviv, Nienke Voppen, emphasised that the organisation will continue to support family-based care in Ukraine, as every child should have the opportunity to grow up in a family where there is love, care and stability.
After a year of waiting, the house is once again filled with children’s voices. The children have returned to their own rooms, and the family has returned to its usual rhythm of life in their home.
One of the children, Marichka, admitted that she and her brothers and sisters had missed their home very much and were happy to be able to live again in a cosy, bright and refurbished space.
Foster mother Kateryna Dolghova described the day of their return as a special one for her family. She noted that for almost a year everyone had been waiting for the moment when they would once again be able to open the door of their own house, gather around one table and resume their normal life after the fire they had gone through.
«Today I look at our renovated house and feel enormous joy and gratitude. We can once again live here, laugh, gather as a whole family around one table and simply be at home,» says the foster mother of the family-style children’s home, Kateryna Dolghova.
Nine children who are orphans or deprived of parental care live in this family-style children’s home together with their foster mother. Their return to the restored home was made possible thanks to the joint efforts of municipal services, international partners and benefactors.