Olha Kashevska

Community Development Associate

Olha started working with technical assistance projects for Ukraine in 2006 as an expert on cooperation between government and NGOs in the Civil Society Development Project under the European Union's TAСIS assistance programme.

In 2008, Olha joined the UNDP team as the Regional Coordinator of the EU/UNDP Community-Based Local Development Project in Rivne Oblast.

From 2008 to 2017, the “Government-Community-UNDP” Partnership successfully implemented more than 140 projects to improve social infrastructure for 130 urban and rural communities in Rivne oblast.

Also, thanks to Olha's efforts, a stable partnership network was created in the oblast, and mechanisms developed to implement projects for communities with the involvement of budgets at various levels. The most active communities participating in the project became the driving force of the first stage of decentralization reform in the oblast.

Since 2018, Olha has worked as a community development specialist in the EU/UNDP project “Home Owners of Ukraine for Sustainable Energy Solutions (HOUSES)” project. Thanks to her support, more than 120 HOAs were created in the oblast, and more than 240 HOAs received training and consulting support. Together with the local authorities, the project developed tools to support initiative groups, exchange experience, and encourage mutual support between HOAs.

In 2021, Olha has worked as the regional coordinator in Rivne Oblast for the “Economic Empowerment of Women as a Response to the COVID-19 Crisis in Ukraine” project, which was jointly implemented by UNDP and the International Labor Organization. Since 2022, Olha has been working as a community development associate in UNDP’s Regional Development Programme.

Olha is from Lutsk. She has a master's degree in Ukrainian philology from Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University, and master’s degree in Management of organizations from Ternopil National Economic University.

UNDP and me

"I value most UNDP’s focus on people and their needs. This is also my priority in work and life. I’m proud to be part of changes that ensure respect for human dignity, promote responsibility, enhance equality, and encourage our fellow citizens to aspire to a better quality of life."