Sirje Karis and Olena Zelenska open the third Estonian-financed small group home in Ukraine

“Sadly, too many Ukrainian children have had their homes, loving parents, and carefree childhoods stolen by war. That’s why I’m deeply grateful for the efforts to build family-style group homes in Ukraine. These homes are where new stories begin, where hope is born, and where a better future for Ukraine can grow,” said Sirje Karis. 

Mrs Karis acknowledged the collaboration between the Olena Zelenska Foundation and the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV), “Thanks to their efforts, more homes are being built each year. Another house will be ready by Christmas, and a new foster family will soon have a beautiful new home.”

“Our Estonian friends were so deeply concerned about the fate and needs of Ukrainian foster families that they decided to build four more houses for such families in the Zhytomyr region. The Foundation's team found these families, as well as land plots for construction,” shared Olena Zelenska  

The brand-new 212-square-meter house has seven bedrooms and four bathrooms and will be a permanent home for Volodymyr Ivanov and Olha Listunova and their nine children: Ramila (16), Dmytro (16), Yasyn (15), Alim (13), Kyrylo (13), Yurii (9), Valeria (9), Kateryna (17) and Mykola (16).

Volodymyr, Olha and their children were displaced when the war broke out. At first, the family left their home in the Sumy region and moved to Estonia, where they lived in Kohtla-Järve for about three months. After that, they went back to Ukraine and tried to return to their home. However, constant shelling forced them to seek temporary housing elsewhere. 

Estonia has invested  €2.3 million to build three family-style small group homes and two mandatory bomb shelters for displaced foster families in the city of Zhytomyr. The initiative was led by ESTDEV and financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia.

The first two houses were completed in January 2025. “The opening of the third house today stands as a testament to Estonia’s promise and the enduring partnership with Ukraine. Tailored to address Ukrainian needs, these homes seamlessly blend Estonia's innovative design expertise with a deep commitment to creating spaces that foster healing, stability and hope for displaced families,” said ESTDEV’s executive director, Klen Jäärats.

Providing housing for large foster families is a collaborative effort between ESTDEV and the Olena Zelenska Foundation, as part of scaling up the “Room for Childhood” project. The Foundation helped select land plots, identify foster families and manage the legal aspects of transferring homes to their new owners. ESTDEV managed the construction process of all houses, including sourcing architectural designs and selecting construction companies through Estonia’s public procurement procedures.

ESTDEV was also one of the first partners to support the Foundation’s initiative “Room for Childhood”, which aims to ensure housing for large foster families who have lost their homes due to the war.  Estonia contributed  €376,000 to fund the construction of one house, which was completed in June 2024.

In addition to permanent housing, all foster parents living in the Estonian-built homes received training in Estonia on trauma-informed childcare. Ukrainian child protection and social welfare specialists also took part in study visits to Estonia, helping local governments advance their social welfare systems to align with European standards.

The project was supported by the Estonian Association of Architects and the Ministry of Culture, who carried out the architectural competition with the Estonian architectural agency DAGOpen and the Ukrainian architects providing the winning HATA design for the small group home. ESTDEV awarded the Ukrainian company LLC "Alexander & I" and its Estonian subcontractor, KMT Prefab OÜ, the €1.97 million public procurement contract to construct three group homes and two bomb shelters, and Inest Market was awarded a €112,370 contract for providing furniture. 

Photos from the opening: https://www.flickr.com/photos/presidendikantselei/sets/72177720325742596/