Princes-Benefactors Ostrozky Foundation, Ukraine
“The uniqueness of the model lies in its simplicity” is how Ruslan Kraplych, the Executive Director of the Princes-Benefactors Ostrozky Foundation, describes their programme, aptly named “The Community Shares Bread.”
The foundation works in Rivne in Western Ukraine, a district which became home to thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) during 2022, many of them coming from the East of Ukraine. Most had lost their jobs and many were suffering from the traumas associated with the war. Without deliberate efforts to integrate these new arrivals, the foundation was concerned that they would not feel – or be made to feel – like part of the community. It also quickly became clear that many municipalities did not have adequate means to respond to the mass movement of people across the country, and the resulting challenges to social cohesion that might ensue. In addition, the collective and individual psychological trauma caused by the war was largely being overlooked, with the focus of much of the aid effort on providing urgent humanitarian aid.
In response to the challenge, the foundation developed and launched a psycho-social support programme called “The Community Shares Bread” aimed at bringing IDPs and local residents together to bake and break bread. The simple goal of these small group sessions – held in schools, community centres, local businesses and private homes (basically, anywhere with an oven) – was to connect local residents and their new neighbours in order to build trust, personal bonds, and to create a sense of home, warmth and belonging. Facilitators leading the sessions were trained not only in the skills of bread-making, but also on the basics of the programme’s inherent psycho-social support strategy.
Once made, the bread would be shared over coffee and conversation. IDPs pack the surplus bread products and deliver these to local families living in poverty, the elderly, volunteer centres and military personnel. This also provided them with a sense of purpose, and the feeling that they were contributing to their new community. According to the foundation “the very approach of giving bread to local people from the host community causes the effect of a rush of gratitude and closeness of people who help each other during an incredible trial.”
In Ukraine, sharing bread has deep symbolic meaning, emphasizing connections between people. The foundation produced a manual and training video to share their experiences and methodology, and received interest from local economic development agencies in seven cities across Ukraine keen to replicate the programme.
The “The Community Shares Bread” was launched initially with a GFCF grant: however a number of other international donors subsequently came on board to support it. One local individual contributed US $6,250 in cash and local businesses also offered their premises and covered the costs of various supplies, including electricity. As a result, the programme was able to reach many more people than originally anticipated. In fact, the foundation estimates that more than 100,000 bread products were produced and distributed, with an approximate value of $30,000.
The GFCF has made four grants to the Princes-Benefactors Ostrozky Foundation, totaling US $74,100.