Thanks to the efforts of Maryna Stoilova, over 40 thousand people continued to access healthcare, education, and social services. In the early months of the full-scale war, the Safianivka community — Ukraine’s largest rural community — faced severe financial challenges. However, Maryna, as the head of the financial department, found solutions to not only ensure resilience for 19 villages but also actively develop healthcare, inclusion, and pay public sector wages.

This story is part of the Governance Champions campaign by the USAID HOVERLA Activity. It is a series of publications dedicated to Local Government Day featuring professionals who bring outstanding results to the community through their daily work.

In school, Maryna excelled at solving complex math problems, and now she skillfully manages the finances of an entire community. When her husband joined the military early in the full-scale war, she immersed herself in work, determining her task as maintaining schools, kindergartens, hospitals, good roads, and security programs for residents.

"After February 24, 2022, we urgently had to redistribute budget expenditures — to purchase generators, fuel, and repair shelters in schools and kindergartens. Additionally, military units began seeking our help," recalls Maryna.

There was more work, but fewer employees - some of her colleagues went abroad because of the shelling. So Maryna had to work for three people. But she coped with the tasks. She worked and constantly studied budgetary and financial legislation changes and told taxpayers in her community about them.

To cope with all the new expenses, they had to find a way to increase the budget. And they managed to do that, too, says the financier: “We did this in two ways: we identified tax evaders in the community and initiated an inspection of vacant land to lease it out. This way we managed to triple the community's income.”

In addition, the community's life during the war was simplified by five agreements with the Suvorove Village Council on inter-municipal cooperation in health care, youth policy, archives, inclusion, and social services. HOVERLA helped to implement this cooperation. Experts advise community professionals and help them understand the changes in legislation, which are numerous in wartime.

More than 40 thousand residents and internally displaced persons in the community benefit from these efforts, including repaired hospital facilities and new equipment. An inclusive resource center serves children from Safianivka and Suvorove, while funding for an inclusive administrative services center introduced ramps and Braille signage.

“In the community, we must cater to diverse needs to ensure everyone has access to comfortable living and services,” says Maryna.

But Maryna doesn't stop there - she wants to make every administrative building in the community inclusive. And she is already planning a budget for post-war recovery.

The USAID HOVERLA Activity helps to build the institutional potential of local governments through the professional development of their officials, supporting the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development’s efforts in strengthening the capacity and self-sufficiency of Ukrainian communities.

This publication was prepared based on materials of the non-governmental organization “Icebreaker” (ShoTam media) which were created within the “Effective Solutions for Progressive Communities” project and were made possible by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the generous support of the American people through USAID HOVERLA Activity.  The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government