After its creation in 2020, the Kodyma community in Odesa Oblast united 21 settlements. Establishing an effective municipal service delivery system became the first task of the newly formed community.

Providing residents with water supply, sewerage, garbage disposal, and landscaping services became one of the first challenges the Kodyma community faced. These services are managed by a communal enterprise, which initially had only three pieces of equipment but had to cover over 24,000 residents with these critically important services. The city council cooperated with the Department of Economic Development and Investments to define the enterprise’s territory, an administrative building, and workshops for major renovations. The enterprise also received dump trucks, excavators, and cranes, while the USAID HOVERLA Activity provided chainsaws, cut-off saws, motor pumps, and an excavator. As a result, not only did the efficiency of municipal services improve, but the number of jobs also increased. Currently, the enterprise employs 64 workers and aims to expand to 100 people.

Local resident Ruslan Khylobok noted the positive changes in the community:

“Municipal services are provided promptly and efficiently. Even the attitude and motivation of the employees towards their work have changed. Once, they stayed until 10:00 PM to repair a water pipe. They did not stop until it was fixed.”

After the start of the full-scale invasion, the community faced another challenge – the need to organize a space to assist internally displaced persons (IDPs), who arrived in the community in large numbers. The Kodyma community was one of the first in the north of the Odesa region to set up a social service center for the population. In the center, in addition to temporary housing, IDPs can receive social and psychological support. To ensure the uninterrupted operation of the center, it is equipped with generators provided by HOVERLA.

The Kodyma community continues to improve municipal services for residents. Its strategic priority is the return of over 6,000 residents who left their homes due to the war. The community has joined the Alliance of Southern Podillya to attract foreign investment and create new jobs, and it works daily on new projects that will develop the community's advantages and potential.

The USAID HOVERLA Activity has awarded the Kodyma community's achievements in developing municipal services as a best practice.