Hello everyone. Sean Almeida here. I haven’t made an update in a while, so it’s good to be back. It’s been a while since winter, and things have changed a bit since then. The Russians have slowed down their attacks on infrastructure, and maybe they’ll stop altogether because their plan failed. During winter, we had some issues with electricity and heating, but thankfully we could rely on resilient systems. Now that the heating season is over, it’s warmer and rainier, which matches my mood. I’ll tell you why in a second, but first, let me give you an update on life in Kyiv.
Life in Kyiv During Wartime
Despite the war going on, life in the city feels too normal at this point. The streets are full of people as if there was no war at all. Sure, around 400,000 to 500,000 people have left for the West of Ukraine, but an equal number have moved to the city from other parts of Ukraine. Traffic is back to normal, and restaurants are full. It’s good and bad, depending on how you view it.
Real Estate Market in Kyiv: Rentals vs. Sales
As for the real estate market in Kyiv, rentals are doing pretty well. Most of the properties we manage are already rented out. However, sales are still slow due to bank and currency issues, but we continue to construct new properties and manage existing ones. There has been some demand from expats arriving in the city, so that’s a good sign.
Miyamoto Relief Ukraine: Innovative Reconstruction Efforts
In this update, I wanted to share something interesting that I found related to reconstruction efforts. There’s a company called Miyamoto Relief Ukraine, which has a construction company that provides various products worldwide under different conditions. They already started with the reconstruction of damaged buildings in the city, and one of the first things he did was to repair the wall and roof of a kindergarten that had been hit by an artillery round during the war. Usually, the money for reconstruction is reserved for lighter repairs, and buildings with significant damage are left for later. However, Mr. Miyamoto contributed his own money to fix the significant damage and cover the roof. Once that’s done, the kindergarten will also qualify for money from other programs. This way, Mr. Miyamoto is kind of jumping ahead of the line and going around the system, which has both advantages and disadvantages. Nevertheless, it’s good because the kindergarten would have continued to deteriorate otherwise.
Repairing a Damaged Kindergarten in Kyiv
It’s heartening to see someone taking the initiative to repair damaged buildings, especially when the reconstruction efforts are slow and inadequate. As you can see from the damage around the neighborhood, there’s a lot of work to be done. Hopefully, they’ll be able to finish the full reconstruction of the school by September, before the new school year begins. It took about $30,000 and two weeks of work to repair the kindergarten, and Miyamoto Relief Ukraine funded it. The regional government was the client, and Mr. Miyamoto found a good crew to finish the job in two weeks. I went inside to take a look, and it looked really nice. The new prefab stuff looks very solid, so the kindergarten will be able to educate young kids for many years to come.
