Estonia opens two houses for internally displaced foster families in Zhytomyr Oblast
Two houses for families with foster children who were forced to leave Kherson Oblast due to the war have been built in Zhytomyr Oblast. Their construction was done by Estonia.
"Two more large foster families have received housing thanks to the cooperation of the Olena Zelenska Foundation with the Estonian government. Instead of losing their homes in Kherson Oblast, the families will live in new, modern houses in Zhytomyr Oblast," Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska said.
Estonia was in charge of the design and building process, and the Olena Zelenska Foundation was in charge of finding land plots. Investment in the project totalled almost €2 million.
The opening ceremony was attended by Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.
🇪🇪🤝🇺🇦 Today, Estonia opened 2️⃣ family-style group homes in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, offering displaced foster families a safe place to heal. The third house will be completed in the coming months.
– ESTDEV 🇪🇪 #StandWithUkraine (@ESTDEVestonia) January 14, 2025
These homes, backed by a €1.97M investment and the @Zelenska_FND, provide hope and… pic.twitter.com/PMuIitDiRH
The Estonian Centre for International Development noted that a third such house would be completed in the coming months.
Zelenska stressed that this year, they plan to provide housing for ten more large foster families.
Estonia has agreed with the Ukrainian president's idea of sponsoring a particular oblast and has focused its assistance on projects in Zhytomyr Oblast. For example, the bridge in Malyn, destroyed by a Russian missile, was reconstructed with Estonian funds.
A kindergarten was opened in Irpin in 2023, restored entirely with funding from Lithuania. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda attended the opening ceremony.