UKRAINE: ON THE GROUND AID
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**OCTOBER 2023 UPDATE**
As the war drags on so does our work.
Wavering international support and compassion fatigue has translated into many shortages. One of which we can directly help with - transport.
In order to continue helping, I am now looking to raise funds to buy a 9-seater van, similar to the ones I have been renting every time I have gone over. Buying a van would allow other volunteers to maximize its use by creating a constant loop of driving Ukrainians to safety and bringing aid back to the border, without a gap of weeks or months in between trips.
Together we have directly funded the transport of more than 300 Ukrainians, mostly women and children, to safety in Europe. Additionally, over 3 tons of food and aid has been brought back toward Ukraine while also assisting countless others through the network of international volunteers on the ground in both Ukraine and Poland.
We have now set up a safe route between Warsaw and Copenhagen. Ukrainians who have fled to Poland but have nowhere to go are brought to the Danish Red Cross Refugee Centre near Copenhagen where they are processed and granted asylum within a week or two. This includes housing and papers to live and work in Denmark for 2 years.
This van would be a lifeline for those who have nowhere to go.
As always, thank you for all fo your support!
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**JULY 2023 UPDATE**
Hi everybody, it's been a while! I just wanted to update everyone who generously donated to this cause last year.
I will be heading back to Poland/Ukraine at the end of July to help out again. While the situation may be slightly different this time around and much of the world has tuned out, there are still millions of people who are either internally displaced or were forced to leave altogether.
My efforts this time will be spent on getting food to the people who have been left behind or cannot leave. Most of these people are either elderly, sick or simply have nowhere else to go. Since the bombing and destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in the Kherson region, staples like bread and clean water have been scarce commodities.
There are thousands of international volunteers doing great work and by everyone doing their part the Ukrainian people push on. Through the contacts, connections and new friends I've made over the past year and a half, I can focus my efforts on targeted needs and requests I get from people on the ground in the affected areas.
- For example, I'm currently working with a woman who makes high-nutrient dehydrated meals that only require boiling water to be consumed. Her expenses include the bulk food and gas to deliver the meals. She is also trying to get a vacuum sealer machine which would make the meals more shelf stable and last much longer.
- Another example is a woman who is running an animal shelter in Kyiv. She takes in stray, injured or abandoned pets (mostly cats and dogs) and rehabilitates and socializes them so they can find a new home for them. She relies on donations to keep the shelter running. There are currently over 30 dogs and over 20 cats living in her care. You can visit their website to adopt one of her rescues here Transform a Street Dog (you're going to want them all...)
Those are just two examples of amazing people doing incredible work. The most recurring feedback Josh and I received last year was how people were "so happy to see exactly where [their] money is going."
Whether you are able to donate again or not, thank you for your support. I wouldn't have been able to do any of it without you.
You can help by just sharing this link with your friends, family and cirlces. Together we can make a real difference in real people's lives.
Thank you!
Dre
gofundme.com/dreukraine
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MARCH 2022 (Original Post)
I’ve been watching the war in Ukraine in horror while people are being forced to flee their homes. According to The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) almost 4 million refugees have now left Ukraine and they expect that number to only go up as the war rages on. Over 2.1 million of those refugees have fled to neighboring Poland, in fact right now two refugees enter Poland every three seconds with the rest going to Slovakia, Hungary, and Moldova. A total of 10 million people have been displaced and 20,000 unaccompanied minors are travelling alone across the war torn country trying to take refuge wherever they can.
My mother is Slovenian and my 90 year old grandparents survived Nazi occupation as children and then had to flee themselves with my mother and uncle from the communist regime that followed. They had help along the way from both friends and perfect strangers alike.
In that spirit I am flying to Poland, renting a 9 seater passenger van, and will be helping to shuttle supplies to shelters while picking up refugees and driving them to accommodations or train stations. I have spoken to organisations that I am working with, alongside friends of friends who have been on the ground offering their services in one way or another. I have contacted Airbnb.org in order to find temporary accommodations and am working with a coordinator who has contacts in most of the refugee centres around the different EU countries.
It’s a small gesture and I am doing anything I can to help an increasingly devastating situation. If you would like to help and donate, please do whatever you can. All of the money will go toward funding the cause, that includes things like the van rental, gas, last minute accommodations for refugees, and supplies such as food, chargers, and essential items for the refugees.
I will do my best to keep everyone posted on how it is going!
Thank you!
Organizer
Dre Barone
Organizer
Montreal, QC
