"For two years we have been living in social housing and are very satisfied"

In 2023, the Agudov family received the keys to a room in the first social housing for Mariupol residents in Dnipro. It was created by the team of Mayor Vadym Boichenko together with partners. Oleksandr works for the Donetsk Region State Emergency Service and regularly performs rescue missions under enemy fire. His wife Natalia is raising two children.

During the full-scale invasion, Oleksandr was rescuing people in the blockaded Mariupol. Natalia was pregnant and was hiding from russian massive shelling with their small son. On 16 March, the family managed to get out of the city. Later on they reached Zaporizhzhia. 

Natalia and their son went to Hungary, while Oleksandr stayed to work during the war. After six months, the woman returned to Odesa, where she gave birth to their second child and decided to stay in Ukraine. 

The family was supported by the Odesa-based "I'Mariupol" centre, which offered to apply for social housing. Soon the Agudovs received the good news and were given the keys to their new home. 

They moved to Dnipro, where they have been living in a pilot social facility for two years. They have two rooms, so there is enough space for everyone. There is a separate comfortable area for the children. 

"We used to rent an apartment in Odesa, and now we can spend the money on our children and their development. We are satisfied with the conditions and thank you for this support and opportunity," says Oleksandr.  

The "I'Mariupol. Housing" project is implemented by the Mariupol City Council with financial support from the French government, in partnership with the International Organisation for Migration, in coordination with the Government of Ukraine and the Donetsk Regional Military Administration. The project is also supported by the HM "Proliska", UNHCR, Rinat Akhmetov Foundation and Grohe company. The initiative has already created four social housing facilities for 476 Mariupol families in Kyiv and Dnipro. New facilities are planned for Chernivtsi, Kropyvnytskyi and Zaporizhzhia.