Visiting a bank or hospital for people with disabilities in the Bila Krynytsia community is a real challenge due to the lack of special transportation to take residents to where they want to go. After discovering that three neighboring communities — Babyn, Kornyn, and Buhryn — had the same problem, the Bila Krynytsia community initiated the creation of a joint social taxi to meet the shared need with a single vehicle.

"If a car costs over $60,000, one community can't afford it. Moreover, we don't have many people who need such transportation, and this car wouldn't be used 100 percent of the time in just one community. That's why we came up with the idea to find partners," says Oksana Kraplych, project manager at the Bila Krynytsia Village Council.

Oksana Kraplych during HOVERLA training session

All four communities signed a cooperation agreement in the field of social and administrative services with the support of USAID HOVERLA Activity. Experts helped develop the agreement and establish cooperation. In addition to the social taxi project, the communities will jointly set up a passport station where residents can quickly and without queues obtain both Ukrainian ID cards and travel passports.

"We are all located close to Rivne. But to submit documents for a passport in Rivne, you need to wait in line for a month. The queue is so long that you can only get the passport after three months. We calculated that if done in the community, these documents can be obtained in 10 days to a month. Also, 14-year-olds can get their Ukrainian ID cards for free. Each community has schoolchildren, and it will be much more cost-effective if they are brought to the village council where they can all submit their passport documents in one day," explains Olena Pletonka, head of the Administrative Services Center (ASC) in the Bila Krynytsia Village Council.

Bila Krynytsia already allocated space in the ASC for the passport station that meets inclusivity requirements: it is on the first floor, has a stair climber provided by the USAID HOVERLA Activity, a ramp, and a restroom adapted for people in wheelchairs.

"Our community has only 11,500 residents, so there is a risk that there might not be enough people who need such services. But when we unite with other communities, there will be enough clients for this service," explains Oksana Kraplych, highlighting the importance of inter-municipal partnership.

Stair climber provided by the USAID HOVERLA Activity

USAID HOVERLA Activity supports partner communities in establishing inter-municipal cooperation, serving as a catalyst for comprehensive community development. As of today, 36 agreements have already been signed between municipalities, helping to optimize resource utilization, promote cultural diversity, stimulate economic growth, address environmental issues, and facilitate the creation of large-scale projects.