Construction of a new shelter funded by Denmark has begun at School №61 in Varvarivka

Location of the future shelter, screenshot from the presentation by the Capital Construction Department

The Danish government is financing the construction of a new anti-radiation shelter at Mykolaiv Lyceum №61 — this will be the first school shelter in the Varvarivka microdistrict.

This was announced by Oleksiy Savchuk, head of the Capital Construction Department of the City Council, at a briefing on 22 January , according to NikVesti.

«This project has not yet been covered in the media — the construction of an anti-radiation shelter at Lyceum №61. This project is also being implemented with the help of Danish partners and the UNOPS team. Over the past year, project documentation has been developed and permission has been obtained to carry out construction work. Land work has now begun — a deep anti-radiation shelter. This work is only in its initial stages. This is a new construction, so the work will take more than a month or two. We understand that it will take quite a long time,» said Oleksii Savchuk.

It should be noted that there are two educational institutions in the Varvarivka microdistrict — Lyceum №60 and Lyceum №61. At Lyceum №60, construction of a new building has begun on the site of the one destroyed by a Russian missile. The new construction also includes a shelter, but work has been suspended for now.

At the same time, Tetiana Martychenko, deputy director of Lyceum №60, told NikVesti that due to the lack of a shelter, the lyceum cannot teach children in a face-to-face or blended format.

But the problem with school shelters is even bigger, she said, because there isn't a single one in the entire Varvarivka neighbourhood.

«Our lyceum and Gymnasium №61 are deprived of any form of education except distance learning. If parents in Mykolaiv can choose another institution that offers face-to-face or blended learning, we do not have that option. We were not given any alternatives to choose from. Where, then, is social justice and equality?» she explained.

Read also NikVesti the article «Funds ran out. How the reconstruction of a school in Mykolaiv stalled halfway.»