NRC's Emergency Fundraiser for Ukraine

In the last year we have assisted more than half a million people in Ukraine, and neighbouring countries.

Since February 2022, 130,000 people have called our emergency telephone number. In addition, our information and legal advice service has helped more than 20,000 people.

Initially, we provided emergency supplies and cash, so that those who were fleeing could obtain food and water and other necessities. There was also a great need for shelter and protection for children and other vulnerable groups. Our emergency response teams collaborated with local partner organisations, and used their local knowledge, to identify those most in need of financial support.

The next step was to establish a supply chain from neighbouring countries into our emergency aid warehouses in western and central parts of Ukraine. In addition, we established offices and emergency response teams in neighbouring Poland, Moldova and Romania.

In Ukraine:

We are present in Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Odesa, Ternopil and Chernihiv, and soon we will open field offices in Mykolaiv and Kharkiv.

• We are providing life-saving assistance, such as food and basic relief items, to the most vulnerable people in Ukraine’s hotspots and hard-to-reach areas.
• We are also assisting hundreds of thousands of displaced people with legal aid, shelter and cash.   
• Before and during the winter we have provided stoves, generators, shelter repairs and cash to people in conflict-affected communities.

In Poland:

In Poland, we are working closely with national partners to support refugees and hosting communities, as well as exploring new programme areas with our partners.  

• Last spring, we established a reception point at the East Warsaw train station for refugees from Ukraine and other vulnerable groups, whether arriving by train or by bus.
• We are giving cash assistance to support vulnerable households to meet their basic needs.
• We are giving refugee families shelter by supporting host families and municipalities.
• We support refugee children to go back to school by supporting the Polish school system as well as supporting Ukrainian schools in Poland.
• We give legal aid, information, and counselling at consultation points, and through mobile helplines and digital platforms.
• We work together with community centres and youth clubs to support refugees and migrants to meet their peers, access services, and support with integration.

 In Moldova and Romania:

In Moldova and Romania, we have prioritised a partner-led response strengthening local civil society to deliver programming alongside, and in support of, national authorities. 

• We continue to work closely with national partners as well as implementing directly to support refugees and hosting communities. 
• We work meet people's urgent needs with water and sanitation, shelter, and cash assistance support to help vulnerable households. 
• We work to meet people's urgent needs with shelter and cash assistance support to help vulnerable households. 
• We have distributed basic necessities including winter jackets, hygiene kits, thermal underwear, boots, and warm bedding for vulnerable families living in community shelters or living elsewhere in host communities.
• We provide legal counselling and information to help people in obtain essential identity and travel documents as well as access essential services available to them.  
• We support community spaces and centres where everyone affected by displacement can learn where they can receive support and services.
• Our programmes strengthen teachers’ skills with training and support to meet the needs of children who have faced displacement and trauma.

Thank you for helping those who are forced to flee!

Links:

• Read more about our Ukraine response here

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has been working with technology partners to open up new channels of communication with displaced people around the world. Our innovative digital aid programming enabled us to act quickly when millions of Ukrainians were forced to flee their homes earlier this year. And it continues to allow us to provide immediate on-demand support to those who need it.

Our “Digital Community Hubs” enable us to have two-way conversations with people forced to flee and allow us to gather data, distribute aid, get feedback, and provide a personalised service to those in need of support.

Examples of what we’ve been able to deliver in Ukraine include:

• Text messages: We send information about where displaced people can, for example, get a food parcel or where they can go and stay in a new city.

• Call-in centre: Our call centre allows people to call in and get information they need or request assistance. Our systems can verify those who are calling in to check that they’re real and that they are who they say they are.

• Cash and voucher assistance: The system is directly linked to cash and voucher assistance. Displaced Ukrainians send in their applications, which are processed using automated scoring matrices, and the money is sent directly to them. It can be withdrawn from their bank accounts or over the counter.

• Monitoring: We reach people across Ukraine, even in non-government-controlled areas, to assess their situation, and conduct post-distribution monitoring. This provides us with insight so that we can plan our responses promptly.

• Self-initiated needs assessments: Anyone in the country can tell us what they’re facing and what they’re going through so that we can respond according to the needs.

The donations we receive from our supporters contribute to real and lasting change for millions of people forced to flee their homes. Thank you for helping those who are forced to flee! 

Links:

• Ukraine response: Digitising humanitarian aid

More than 13 million people have been displaced within Ukraine and neighbouring countries. Many have lost their homes forever, and thousands of families have been separated for an indefinite time. Displacement-affected people need essential supplies and services, shelter and food, psychosocial support and medical care.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is present on the ground both inside Ukraine and in the neighbouring countries of Poland, Romania and the Republic of Moldova where we are working directly and with local partners to meet the growing needs. We provide cash assistance, food, water, sanitation, shelter, education, protection and legal support.

This is what we do inside Ukraine

NRC Ukraine is continuing to provide critical humanitarian assistance. To people trapped in hotspots in eastern Ukraine we are providing:

• life-saving food
• hygiene kits
• emergency shelter kits
• cash assistance

We are also scaling up our response in western Ukraine, with a focus on multi-sectoral support to displaced people through:

• cash assistance
• shelter
• camp management
• information and legal aid

Finally, we are implementing cross-border activities in southern Ukraine (Odesa Oblast) through our area office in the Republic of Moldova. We are supporting people on the move with:

• information sharing
• access to basic services and life-saving assistance
• transit kits (food, hygiene and information)
• emergency non-food items at transit centres
• accommodation for the most vulnerable cases

This is what we do in neighbouring countries

We are working with national partners in Poland, Romania and the Republic of Moldova to support Ukrainian refugees with:

• transit centres with safe spaces for children
• food
• cash assistance
• shelter
• access to better hygiene facilities
• education
• psychosocial support 
• information and legal aid
• access to national social support systems

We’ve seen an outpouring of support for our work in Ukraine, from individuals, governments and businesses alike.

“Our corporate partners and the generosity of private citizens have been crucial to our efforts in Ukraine and neighbouring countries,” says Alain Homsy, NRC’s country director in Ukraine. “Their support is helping us assist those whose lives have been shattered by the conflict. It’s been heartening to see such compassion.”

Links:

• Private sector steps up to help