World Jewish Relief is continuing close relationships with local partners over a month since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The war has caused the fastest and largest displacement of people in Europe since World War Two. To date 10 million people have been displaced mostly inside the country. And over three million people have crossed borders in search of safety.
The loss of life and trauma caused by attacks on civilian infrastructure, on hospitals, schools and places of shelter are worse than one could have imagined. Some cities have been devastated by airstrikes and heavy artillery. Over 900 civilians are reported to have been killed but the actual death toll is higher.
WJR is in daily contact with partners to respond to communities’ most urgent needs join and calls from the international humanitarian community for an immediate ceasefire.
WJR have assisted over 18,000 of the most vulnerable Ukrainians in the country and in neighbouring Poland and Moldova. But there is humanitarian aid still needed. People across the country need essential supplies and services while the economy has shrunk by a third.
Hundreds of thousands of people trapped in Mariupol, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Sumy and the capital, Kyiv, and in areas close to the frontlines, are exhausted and running out of the basics needed for human survival.
The vulnerable people WJR has been assisting for almost 30 years, older people, women and children, and people with disabilities, are particularly affected. Many are unable to flee and are trapped in dangerous situations.
WJR needs to raise a minimum of £10 million to assist the most vulnerable Ukrainians.
WJR, meantime, continues to expand its humanitarian operations.
In Ukraine local partners are continuing to operate. In cases, support has had to move online.
WJR’s team of logistics experts have established a major pipeline to get large shipments of humanitarian relief into Ukraine.
Two trucks have arrived in Lviv with 27,300 daily ration packs and camping equipment requested by partners. £200,000 of prescription medication for individuals unable to access it is on its way to Lviv. Partners will begin distributing items across the country.
WJR has sent humanitarian and refugee experts to advise partners in Moldova and Poland to assist large numbers of refugees fleeing across the border from Ukraine. They are funding partners’ work providing food, accommodation, psychological support and safe spaces for women and children.
They are also funding legal aid and advice to help people prepare for onward journeys.
As the largest provider of employment support to refugees in the UK, WJR is scaling up operations and expanding integration programmes to include refugees from Ukraine, as well as Afghans and Syrians they support. They are working closely with the government to assist the Homes for Ukraine scheme and matching sponsors with Ukrainians looking to come to the UK.
Donations: www.worldjewishrelief.org/ukrainecrisis
