Dmytrivska amalgamated hromada, Kirovohrad Oblast

Nataliya Styrkul, head of hromada

All smiling and happy, Nataliya Styrkul looks younger than she really is and infects you with her vigor the moment you meet her. The head of Dmytrivska amalgamated hromada admits that she owes her energy and motivation to her young team. If not for them, she would have retired long ago. “My principle is to work with young people. I follow them, and it makes me modern,” Nataliya Styrkul proudly says.

However, having worked in the executive bodies for over 30 years and having made it all the way from the position of the village head secretary to the head of hromada, Nataliya well knows that motivation must be supported by experience and knowledge. That is why, along with all of her team members, she constantly attends trainings and seminars where they learn from the experience of other hromadas and borrow ideas for the development of their own. In order to reinforce theory by practice, Nataliya Styrkul has started an exchange with the neighboring hromadas.

Dmytrivska amalgamated hromada employees pay regular visits to other hromadas, where they study their relevant experience in the fields of education, finance, social services and together try to find solutions to common problems. The experienced head of hromada is convinced that as long as a person has someone to look up to and is willing to learn, he or she stays young, and the age does not play any role.