OREANDA-NEWS. On May 16, 2008 EBRD President Jean Lemierre made a donation of EUR231,000 on behalf of the Bank to refurbish the heating system at an orphanage in Ukraine and improve conditions for the 150 children who live there. About half of the amount was contributed by ING Bank, reported the press-centre of EBRD.

The funds will be used to refurbish the orphanage's inefficient heating system, ensuring that schoolrooms and dormitories are adequately heated during Ukraine's often bitter winters.

Some 150 children between the ages of 6 and 16 live at the Komarivka orphanage and boarding school in the Chernigov oblast 160 km north east of Kiev.

The orphanage currently uses 500 to 520 tonnes of coal a year but the system is inefficient and much of the energy is wasted. The installation of 3 new clean coal furnaces, a new heat distribution network and the insulation of windows, pumps and the roof should result in energy savings of between 30 and 50 percent and cut carbon emissions by 300 to 500 tonnes a year.

The donation was made two days before the start of the EBRD's Annual Meeting in Kiev and is also a measure to help offset the carbon emissions related to travel by delegates to Kiev. It follows a similar contribution last year to a hospital for orphaned children in Kazan, Russia, where the EBRD held its 2007 Annual Meeting.