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Submission

Submission creator avatar Anna Sokolova
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introduction
title
Without Armor helps returning back to Civvy Street
short description
An online database that contains useful information for ex-combatants and their family members. Created by NGO "Studena", Kyiv, Ukraine.
About the Team
Full Name(s)
1. Michael Stievater
2. Yaropolk Tymkiv
3. Iryna Malysheva
4. Anastasia Melnychenko
5. Nazar Kravchuk
Position(s)
1. UCBI Chief of Party (Chemonics staff)
2. UCBI Program Development Officer (Chemonics staff)
3. UCBI M&E Manager (Chemonics staff)
4. Head of NGO "Studena", UCBI grantee
5. Programmer, NGO "Studena"
Contact information for each team member
1. mstievater@ukrainecbi.com
2. ytymkiv@ukrainecbi.com
3. imalysheva@ukrainecbi.com
4. n.melnychenko@gmail.com
5. nazar.kravchuk@astwellsoft.com
Chemonics RBU / Division
Europe and Eurasia
Project Name
Ukraine Confidence Building Initiative
Affiliated Technical Practices/Department
Peace, Stability and Transition
Tell the Story
What was the development problem the team was trying to solve?
An estimated 70,000 Ukrainians have served in the armed forces and volunteer battalions since the beginning of the armed conflict in the East of Ukraine. Ex-combatants started to return, and many of them are supposed to have difficulties with reintegration into their home communities. Considering the generally low level of non-medical psychological assistance in Ukraine and fear of stigmatization of individuals that require or seek psychological/psychiatric assistance, individuals that have PTSD often do not get the assistance or services needed. By and large, they are left to cope with these disorders on their own. NGO "Studena" has created an online portal containing information about services and support- such as PTSD treatment and prevention, legal assistance, employment opportunities, training etc. available to demobilized veterans throughout Ukraine.
UCBI was one of the first projects that provided technical support to initiatives aimed to facilitate ATO vets' reintegration.
What makes your project implementation unique or special?
That is the first and unique database containing useful information and organizations, dealing with veterans issues. The information, as well as the list of organizations, are updated on a regular basis providing the target audience (veterans and their family members) with up-to-date information. This web-platform enables veterans and their family members to find and contact relevant organizations, close to their location and to address their specific needs.
Currently, more than 600 verified organizations are placed on the website.
As of end-July 2017, the number of visitors exceeded 182,000.00 in total and a total number of users reached 58,558 persons.
Technical Details
What is the name of the technology or initiative? If it doesn’t have a name, please create one
the website bezbroni.net
What country(s) was the technology implemented in?
Ukraine
What technology category does your technology fall under, if any?
Other
What dates did the technology implementation take place?
03/2016 - present time
Please describe the technology that was used to enhance the project development impact
NGO 'Studena" used PHP Yii2 framework and angular.js framework as key technologies for the website programming. Website coding lasted two months and cost around 2,000.00 USD. Content filling and development (information about organizations and services) took 12 months in total. The website was launched in March 2016, but its content is being updated on a regular basis. Later, the website was upgraded and became more user-friendly and suitable for a navigation on mobile devices. This upgrade cost around 2,000.00 USD, so in total, the budget spent is 4,000.00. This platform is not for profit purposes, but it is extremely valuable for service providers and target groups thanks to its unique content collected in one place.
Please describe the outcomes of using the described technology (higher development impact, better decision making, cost effectiveness, other)
The web-site is well known among veterans and service providers (organizations). According to NGO "Studena", there are numerous examples of veterans using the website. Placement on the website inspires and gives organizations credibility. The website is popular not only among veterans, it has also become a useful resource for social workers.
Profile and capacity of NGO "Studena" increased. Now "Studena" is one of the top five organizations providing psychological assistance to veterans. They used the project to build their capacity and networking. They collected data throughout the country and were able to identify gaps and to program accordingly. The NGO developed partnerships with key media, government, and civil society partners, and actively contribute to policy and legislation.
As of end-July 2017, the number of visitors exceeded 182,000.00 and a total number of users reached 58,558 persons.
Were there any challenges in implementation of the technology? Please describe any lessons learned
Initially, the team has not foreseen high usage of the web platform through mobile devices, therefore the navigation on the website was complicated. Moreover, it required some overtime for download. After an upgrade, the platform became more user-friendly. Lesson learned: to take into account trends in devices' usage and, at least, for websites to create mobile versions. Despite these difficulties, the project became very popular.
Is this technology project-specific, or could it be replicated to enhance other projects? Please respond to the best of your ability.
Availability of relevant information close to users' locations is very convenient and can be applied in various projects. In addition, it helps to engage local initiatives and makes them visible to the target audiences, especially in conditions of limited information dissemination in small towns and villages. Moreover, the presence of local initiatives in informational space allows to encounter needs of users living in those areas.

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