Return to Life Gives a Second Chance

A former drug addict, Oleh, stacks a paving block to dry in the open air prior to shipping. It’s one thing for a CSO to have an income-earning strategy and another to scale-up activities to increase impact and achieve financial sustainability.  To do this, both technical and financial ongoing support is necessary.  This means diversifying activities that build off each other and going beyond one-off financial infusions by connecting them with other CSOs or volunteers.  In practice, this is tricky; but if it works - it’s a graceful solution. Return to Life, a rehabilitation center in central Ukraine, first received a USAID/UCAN grant to make and sell concrete paving blocks to make additional revenue for the center.  The center, which houses up to 16 former drug addicts (many of which are HIV/AIDS positive) and live-in consultants, was primarily focused on launching a social-purpose business, and had not considered growing into a larger-scale operation or connecting with others doing similar things.  But with continued USAID/UCAN support, it has diversified, and by developing multiple business operations it has positioned itself better to achieve self-sufficiency.   In the summer of 2007, a community farmer from Milwaukee brought in by UCAN to offer expertise and improve local social entrepreneurship efforts toured Ukraine to give presentations to a network of social-purpose businesses in Ukraine.  His visit to Return to Life so inspired the center’s residents that they decided to emulate his inexpensive and energy efficient method of greenhouse and composte farming as a way to utilize limited land and increase farming output.  .  Through its legacy organization – the Foundation for Ukraine – and with leveraged funds from the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, USAID/UCAN gave the center a second grant to build one of three planned greenhouses.  It also put them in touch with Hiefer International, a global farming NGO, which has since pledged to finance an additional greenhouse (a third will be built with funds raised in-house); helped them set-up a state-of-the-art, patented rabbit farm and plant apple and apricot trees on the one hectare piece of land.  Hiefer International will also cover an extended hands-on work tour of four to six Ukrainian CSO members to Milwaukee to learn sustainable and inexpensive agricultural techniques like aquaponics and compost farming.   Today, a small orchard of apple trees stands before the front of the rehab center, and newly planted tomatoes have sprouted to the side of the building; the back of the center is where one of the three future greenhouses stands next to the small rabbit holding compartments.  As of April 2007, the foundation affiliated with the center registered a business in order to gain access to credit and purchase farming equipment.  In addition, sale from the concrete paving blocks alone bring $600-800 per month, enough to subsidize 2 rehab residents and the purchase of tools and basic farming equipment.   Today, the center offers a variety of work therapy options to its residents who get to choose an activity that suits them best. “Our residents have 2-3 hours of work therapy daily,” says Oleskandr Ostapov, Return to Life director, “and there is plenty of work around.” New arrivals to the rehab center are exposed to all sorts of in-door and outdoor “work therapy” activities.  They’re guided and encouraged to pursue activities in which they most excel.   “I see someone with a plow in the garden who looks like a natural,” Oleh, a former addict and now, live-in consultant says.  “I don’t say anything the next day; I just give him the plow again.” Recently, another community farmer from western Ukraine, who uses agriculture to reach out to youth with various disabilities, linked up with Return to Life during a grant meeting in Kyiv.  The Foundation for Ukraine hosted the event as part of its social entrepreneurship enhancement program designed to bring partners together for networking and peer learning.  The farmer wants to learn about Return to Life activities, especially the small rabbit farm and greenhouses.

<< Back to the list of success stories