By Dmytro Synyak

 

A feature of the Mamalyhivska AH is that only one of its six village councils is Ukrainian, while all the others are Moldovan ones.

Volodymyr Antonchuk, deputy head of the Mamalyhivska AH, is very surprised with the stance that such rural hromadas can declare autonomy. Why should they need it? Residents of Mamalyha and surrounding villages do not really want this. It’s true, many of them work abroad and even have Romanian passports, but they bring the earned money to their homeland.

 

Volodymyr Antonchuk, deputy head of the Mamalyhivska AH, near the border crossing point with Moldova

Podvirne is the only Ukrainian village of the Mamalyhivska AH

Pupils of the Mamalyha hub school greet Hennadii Ionitsoi, their school director and teacher of Romanian language and literature both in Romanian and in Ukrainian. There are 366 pupils in this school, over 100 of whom, at the request of their parents, study in Romanian language.

 

Ukrainian Romanian School welcomes in two languages

Mr. Ionitsoi says that many parents are convinced: Ukrainian language is more promising than Romanian. Therefore, it is better to learn Ukrainian, especially if a child is planning to enter the Ukrainian higher educational institution.

 

Children of the Mamalyhivska AH learn European values from early childhood

 

11^th-B-class of the Mamalyha hub school. Romanian Ukrainians plan to enter Chernivtsi universities

“I would not say that ethnic Moldovans, especially in Romanian-speaking classes, are inclined to emigrate,” tells Hennadii Ionitsoi. “After so many years as part of Ukraine, the mentality of our hromada has changed a lot. As for me, it's better to build this state than emigrate. Moreover, with the decentralisation reform, it looks increasingly promising.”

 

Hennadii Ionitsoi, director of the Mamalyna hub school and teacher of Romanian language

As soon as the AH was formed and a hub school was set up in Mamalyha, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine selected it to participate in a competition for an investment project funded by US grant-providers.

 

Multiboard in Podvirne school is an indispensable educational tool for teachers and children

 

In the same year, the Mamalyha hub school received UAH 1.8 million from the state “for the development and necessary procurement”.

 

New roof on school worshops

 

This year, the Mamalyha hub school has won a grant of UAH 0.5 million for the creation of an innovative linguaphone room within the framework of the United Nations Development Programme “Sustainable Development of Rural Territories of Chernivtsi and Odesa Oblasts”.

 

School “board of honour”

 

“Ukrainians and Moldovans live friendly together, and we really appreciate this friendship. Moreover, our hromada was formed not by ethnic, but by an economic principle,” says Volodymyr Antonchuk.

 

Studying in vyshyvankas (Ukrainian national shirt)

 

The full version is available in Ukrainian – please click HERE