About the Center

DobroHub: Space of Happy People is the name of the community building center that was established in March 2024 in the village of Kremydivka, part of the Dobroslav Hromada in the Odesa Region. Kremydivka has a population of about 2,700 people, and the opening of a space where people of different ages and social groups can come together for leisure, collaboration, and development was a significant event.

The Dobroslavs Hromada is one of 10 hromadas that won a competition held by the Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund and Cedos. Each community received a grant of 1,000,000 UAH to create a community building center, along with mentoring support from experts in architecture, culture, communications, and social interaction

A key characteristic of community building centers is their accessibility, both physical and social. It is important that people from different social groups, regardless of their physical condition or social status, have the opportunity to freely visit and use these spaces.

Opening

The official opening and presentation of the community building center DobroHub: Space of Happy People took place on March 20. The opening program was packed with events. After welcoming the guests and presenting the project, a panel discussion titled The Civil Society Sector During the War: Challenges and Opportunities was held, featuring speakers from both the government and the civil society sector.

In the café-bookstore, visitors to the center could participate in a creative meeting with poet Oksana Vorozhbyt-Lukash. Questions about modern IT technology opportunities, education, and development in this field were answered by Vadym Drumov, the director of the Hillel computer school.

For those interested in art, artist Tetyana Zgurska conducted a painting lesson. Additionally, there was a large celebratory cake and pastries at the opening.

The youth who attended the event participated in a training session on the topic of Team Building: Cohesion for Collective Development, and later, everyone gathered in the common hall to watch the film The Path of Generations.

When we opened the community building center in Kremydivka, to be honest, we were a bit worried—would the people of Kremydivka come here, would they be interested in the activities we offered, would all the locations be utilized, and would visitors take care of the material assets we entrusted to them? We’re already seeing the first very pleasant results. The center is alive! In the first week alone, many interesting events took place: psychological training sessions, yoga classes, painting lessons, workshops on decorative and applied arts, educational games, film screenings, cozy hours of conversation in the café-bookstore. And there’s much more to come!

Ludmyla Prokopechko, Dobroslav village head

Among the guests at the opening of the community building center were Oleksandr Hrynchak, Head of the Odesa District (Military) Administration; Arkadiy Mkrtychyan, Member of the Odesa District Council; advisors to the Head of the District Administration Olena Netuzhylova, Kostiantyn Pogoryelov, and Oleksandr Baydenko; as well as the deputy heads and councilors of the Dobroslav Village Council, residents of Kremydivka, and friends and partners of the community.

The Cedos team was represented at the opening by Yulia Kabanets, an analyst and project manager.

From the first moments of getting to know the community, I was captivated by their incredible energy: everyone is friendly, hospitable, doing multiple things at once—and they manage it all! I really admire the community’s approach that community building centers should not only be located in the administrative center but in all corners of the hromada. Guided by this principle, the hromada opened the center in the village of Kremydivka so that the residents wouldn’t have to travel to Dobroslav to gather together. Residents of all ages came to the opening to get acquainted with the new space. After the official part, everyone dispersed to different areas of the space: some participated in discussions with government bodies and NGOs, some attended the poetry evening, children had the chance to paint with an artist, and the youth got acquainted with the computer room. I’m confident that the community will succeed in implementing all their bold ideas. I wish them every success!

Yulia Kabanets, analyst and project manager at Cedos

The non-governmental organization that contributed to the implementation of the project in the Dobroslav Hromada was NGO VATRA-2015.

Our organization strives to participate in competitions and grant projects to improve the lives of community residents. After learning about the competition within the Community reBuilding project, we decided to participate and create the DobroHub Space of Happy People in the starosta district. The lack of establishments and events was felt acutely in the village of Kremydivka by both teenagers and adults. Therefore, the opening of this new space became a significant cultural event. I believe we managed to meet all the wishes of Kremydivka residents in terms of space equipment and activities, and now they will have the opportunity to spend their leisure time in an interesting and meaningful way. We sincerely thank everyone involved in the project, especially our partners, the Cedos team, and the Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF).

Ruslan Syrotiuk, Head of NGO VATRA-2015

Read also about the opening of the community building center in the Krasnokutsk Hromada in the Kharkiv Region.