One year on from the start of the active fighting in Ukraine and we have been fortunate to be able to respond with 41 articulated trucks to date. We have delivered mattresses, bedding, toiletries, food, medical supplies, water bowsers, portable generators and significant donations from both corporates and individuals. Initially our aid was distributed from our partners in Poland, Slovakia, and Moldova but now we also have a key partner n Kyiv, Ukraine on Palms, for immediate distribution across the region.
At least 13 million people are estimated to be stranded in areas most affected by active fighting. Kharkiv is an area which has the highest number of people displaced and hosts the highest number of internally displaced people. This September the recorded figure was 164,000. Kyiv Region, which includes Irpin has been brought to rubble with only the most vulnerable people still living there. So many people will just have nowhere to go back to.
The number of fatalities and injured is unknown. There are figures quoted but no one knows the true number and keeping abreast of this situation is near on impossible. Hour by hour the situation changes. What is very evident is the number of Ukrainian people who now have refugee status. A report on humanitarian access has been compiled by ACAPS.
Many charities along with individuals are also now on the move with trucks of aid. At Hope and Aid Direct we aim to ensure that all aid that we take or send to the people of Ukraine is needed. So often well-intentioned aid, mainly clothes delivered in black plastic bags, is simply not required and will only add to the issues rather than help. There are currently people on the borders taking clothes back from these locations and moving them to Lebanon or Calais.
We have long term relationships with many aid agency partners and their knowledge on the ground is crucial in providing us with a specific needs list which we can then gather, sort, load into our trucks and deliver direct to those who most need help. This list is regularly changing and is updated to suit the needs at the time.
Our focus is on both speed and need; how quickly we can be effective and work with our agency contacts. This crisis is not going to end soon. We know we will need to support people for many years and that this will be one of the most challenging tasks.
We have given hope and aid for twenty-five years and know what needs to be done and how best to achieve this given the complex border controls and logistics to be covered. We always need money to source particular aid items and to fuel the trucks for our volunteer drivers to make the long and sometimes challenging distributions possible. Please help and DONATE now to allow us to continue this work. Monthly recurring payments are very valuable and where applicable please make sure you check the gift aid box.
BY HELPING US WE CAN HELP OTHERS.
