Disaster Response Ukraine Project #55593

Emergency Aid Ukraine

by Aktion Deutschland Hilft e.V.

Project Report | Oct 26, 2023
Winter aid for Ukraine is in full swing

By Theresa Aengenheyster | Project Leader

The people of Ukraine are facing the second harsh 
winter of war. For them, help is now vital to their 
survival. Because many houses are in ruins or have 
destroyed windows and doors. In addition, new attacks 
on civil infrastructure threaten to paralyze the 
population's supply of heating and electricity.

"We do everything in our power"

That's why the winter aid of the alliance organizations of
Aktion Deutschland Hilft is already in full swing.

“We are doing everything in our power to help the people 
who have been exposed to the horrors of this war for more 
than a year and a half, through the cold season and to 
complete all preparations in time before the onset of 
winter,” emphasizes board member of Aktion Deutschland Hilft.

Aid organizations prepare buildings for winter

Creating winter-proof living space is a focus of the help from 
our alliance organizations. AWO International repairs the homes 
of 2,700 people and repairs damage to hospitals, retirement homes, 
kindergartens and schools. Help builds prefabricated houses for 
internally displaced people and for people who have lost their 
homes due to the war.

The organization also carries out emergency repairs on buildings
and distributes much-needed insulation materials to residents. 
In August, Malteser International repaired war-damaged houses and 
replaced window panes that were broken during fighting.

The helpers also repaired a shared accommodation facility for 130 
internally displaced people. CARE provides cash assistance and tools 
to repair damaged housing.

Mobile heating centers and warming rooms

The Arbeiter Samariter Bund (ASB) is setting up two mobile heating 
centers in Kiev and the surrounding area. There, visitors can warm 
up around the clock, drink and eat something warm and receive basic 
medical care if necessary. People who have become homeless during 
the war find refuge and warmth in specially created overnight shelters.

AWO International had already equipped 20 warming rooms in the city 
of Chernihiv for the winter last winter. They will also be open in 
the coming winter in case electricity and heating are cut off during 
attacks.

Distribution of generators and warm clothing

Mobile heaters and generators also provide heat in schools and 
facilities for people with disabilities. The aid organization CARE 
supplies the population in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with solid fuel.

In order to prepare winter aid, the medication aid organization 
action medeor is procuring stoves, heating material and warm 
clothing. How dangerous the work of helpers is in the war-torn country 
was demonstrated in Odessa, where action medeor runs a social pharmacy 
for those in need. Rockets hit not far from the pharmacy in the summer.

Distribution of food and cash aid

Malteser International is distributing 2,000 packages of basic food and 
dry food. The ASB also distributes food in the Kiev area.

And World Vision supports 40,000 people with cash assistance so that 
people can individually buy what they need most.

Thank you for your donation!

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Jun 29, 2023
Knowledge saves lives

By Theresa Aengenheyster | Project Leader

Several times a week, Viktoria, an 
explosives risk expert at the alliance organization 
of Aktion Deutschland Hilft, Handicap International, 
holds so-called CPP and EORE courses for Ukrainian 
school classes in Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia, Poltava 
and Dnipro. Behind these rather cryptic abbreviations 
lies life-saving knowledge for children in war 
zones. It's about nothing less than dealing with 
mines, booby traps and the right behavior in an emergency.

Ukraine is now one of the most heavily munitions 
contaminated places in the world. Not least because 
there has been fighting here since 2014. "The children 
usually already know something about the subject from 
television, from their parents or from the Internet," 
explains Viktoria. "But they often have wrong or incomplete 
information, so we teach them the right behavior. We show 
the children what mines look like and tell them where to 
find them - in trenches or on bases, in destroyed 
buildings, on empty fields, in forests, on highways. 
All of these places can be contaminated."

Mines in Ukraine: Children are more at risk
Children who are unaware that they should avoid such 
places are at ongoing risk. Statistically, their 
lives are far more likely to be in danger than adults 
in former and active war zones because children love 
to explore and touch everything they see. In the case 
of mines and booby traps, however, curiosity can have 
fatal consequences.

"Sometimes ordnance can be camouflaged or hidden in other 
objects," says Viktoria. "In the Donetsk region, we have 
seen explosive devices in toys, books and even mobile phones. 
For example, if I ask children: 'If you see an iPhone on 
the street, do you pick it up?' They usually say: 'Yes!' 
That's what you need to avoid. The kids need to understand 
that in war zones, everything is potentially dangerous."

"One move can kill"
Even if the war ended today, it would take over 100 years 
to successfully clear Ukraine of mines. Generations will 
be confronted with the consequences of war.

Viktoria and her colleagues are not discouraged by this: 
"I do this work because I want to protect people from danger. 
I used to work as a deminer and experienced a lot in the 
process. A single wrong move can kill, so I want more and 
educate more people in Ukraine about these dangers - and I 
will continue to do so."

Our alliance helps people from Ukraine: in the country itself, 
at all stages of their refuge and in the countries where 
they seek protection.

Thank you for your donation!

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Mar 7, 2023
One year of war - one year of help

By Theresa Aengenheyster | Project Leader

Sirens wail, bombs fall, entire cities lie in ruins - and millions of people are 
left with nothing.
The alliance organizations of Aktion Deutschland Hilft support the affected
families at all stages of the flight: in Ukraine, in neighboring countries and 
at the place of refuge.
In the cold months, winter aid in Ukraine and neighboring countries is of 
fundamental importance.
Several alliance organizations from Aktion Deutschland Hilft support the local 
people: with blankets and thick winter clothing, stoves, heaters, solid fuels 
and generators.
Thanks to your donations, helpers can distribute hot drinks and meals and 
refugees can find contact points and soup kitchens to warm up.

In addition, our alliance organizations winterize destroyed residential buildings,
schools, kindergartens and community rooms. They renovate war-damaged buildings 
and roofs, install new doors and windows, and repair heaters.
Alliance organizations have been delivering essential goods to Ukraine and 
neighboring countries since the first days. These include field kitchens, kitchen
and accommodation tents and medical supplies and wheelchairs.
The helpers work closely with local partner organizations to ensure that the 
aid arrives.

Hygiene items such as menstrual products, diapers or soap are also important 
for people fleeing. Helpers from our alliance and countless volunteers lend a 
hand so that the products reach the people.
A lot has changed in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, including for 
agriculture.
Fields cannot be cultivated and crops cannot be delivered. Seed gur, fertilizer
and diesel have become unaffordable for many farms. There are also mined fields, 
destroyed machines and a lack of animal feed.
We are strengthening agriculture in Ukraine so that small farms in particular can 
maintain their production.

They hear bombs falling and sirens wail, experience violence and destruction: the 
war in Ukraine hits the children with full force. Child protection centers are 
set up, sick children are evacuated and girls and boys are helped to come to 
terms with their experiences.
Bombs, fighting, expulsion - many elderly people from Ukraine have experienced 
this before. In addition, fleeing is particularly exhausting in old age.
Particular attention is paid to the needs of older women and men. With local 
partner organisations, the helpers provide food, medicine, blankets and help 
cope with trauma.
Support, in the form of cash or vouchers, is of great importance to people on 
the run. After the women and men had to leave everything behind, they are given 
back a bit of self-efficacy in the form of cash or vouchers. So you can decide
for yourself what you need and want to buy.
You as a donor make this help possible. Thank you for giving new hope to the 
children, women and men of Ukraine with your donation.

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