Leading international charities, including EAA members, are providing humanitarian aid and assistance to Ukrainian families displaced and affected by the ongoing war.
While images stream in from the frontlines, it’s important to know what charities are doing on a day to day basis to support Ukrainians in need. This is particularly relevant as international charities coordinate together with each providing specific expertise in a particular area.
We’ve put together a brief summary of some of the essential areas of relief that some of our member organisations (partner charities) are offering in relation to Ukraine relief.
#1 Delivering Essentials to Those Displaced or Forced to Flee Ukraine
As of May 2022, an estimated number of over 5.1 million people have been forced to flee Ukraine and seek refuge in neighbouring countries. It is also estimated that more than seven million people have been internally displaced in Ukraine.
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), which has been working alongside local authorities, partners and community organisations to deliver assistance in Ukraine since 1994, is supporting those who have been forced to flee the country with core relief items such as blankets, sleeping mats and emergency shelters. The UNHCR has also placed emergency experts and large amounts of essential supplies on the ground in neighbouring countries, which are distributed to refugees, as well as to people in Ukraine through convoys.
Another one of our member organisations, Act for Peace, is working on the ground with its partners in Hungary to deliver shipments of essentials, including canned food, flour, sugar, oil, rice, pasta, biscuits, long-life milk and tea. These items are being distributed from reception centres in Western Ukraine – straight into the hands of those that need it most.
The list of essentials extends far beyond food, with non-food items such as medicine, toilet paper, toothpaste and other sanitary essentials such as hygiene kits included in shipments associated with Act for Peace and many other charities working on the ground in Ukraine.
#2 Psychosocial and Social Work Services to Support Displaced Families
Psychosocial and social work support services refer to services that assist with boosting mental health and improving personal and social wellbeing of individuals accessing the services. Charities may offer services within this category that are specific to the situation, such as conflict, or more general and focused on overall wellbeing.
Caritas Australia, in addition to providing food, water, emergency shelter and medical support on the ground in Ukraine, offer social work and psychosocial support services that help to support displaced families. Social work services can cover a range of things, from providing individuals with a number of resources and additional support services to help them through the situation, as well as counselling. Donations of a certain value can even go directly towards paying for a social worker to help support displaced families for a full week.
Plan International, a charity that campaigns for girls’ equality, offers similar support that is directly related to the witnessing of conflict. More specifically, donations of a certain value can go directly towards providing children that have witnessed conflict with vital psychological support.
#3 Emergency Healthcare
Amongst Save the Children’s range of support and aid for Ukraine is the Emergency Health Unit, which works to deliver quality public healthcare for children and their families who find themselves caught in the middle of climate disasters, conflicts and highly infectious disease outbreaks. In the context of Ukraine, the Emergency Health Unit team is trained to administer life-saving medical care and treat malnourished children; both possibilities from displacement and increasing refugee numbers caused by the conflict.
#4 Safe Spaces for Children to Play and Learn
With safe and happy childhoods under threat in Ukraine, Plan International are also campaigning to provide safe spaces for children to play and learn. Experiences such as having to say goodbye to family, as well as witnessing and having to flee from conflict, can have a detrimental effect on the mental health of these children.
Providing safe spaces for these children to play and learn offers much needed respite from the situation and can help young people to continue developing their social skills whilst in a safe environment.
How Are Your Donations Used?
Our member organisations are helping to aid Ukraine relief in many ways, including initiatives that are not included in this list such as money transfers, transitional housing in neighbouring countries, and more. By working together, we can channel the care and passion of Australians into a fast and effective response to international emergencies, such as the Ukraine crisis.
By donating to the Emergency Action Alliance, your donation will go to our member organisations who are best placed to respond in or around Ukraine. This means your donations are distributed where help is needed most, and where it is able to make a difference in our efforts to respond to humanitarian crises as quickly and effectively as possible.
