June 8, 2023
51,645 people evacuated from danger to date
176 people evacuated from danger this week
41 trips into the deoccupied and frontline territories
We were going to start this letter writing about kids’ festivals that our teams organized in many towns across Ukraine. However, early morning on June 6th, Russia destroyed the Kakhovka dam causing a humanitarian and an ecological catastrophe. Nine of our teams are in the area delivering aid, evacuating, and providing shelter. More information is available on our socials and will be reported here next week, but for now you can help by donating directly below or to our Facebook fundraiser.
For International Children’s Day on June 1st, our teams hosted fun and joyful events for children in their areas. From dressing up as polar bears and singing in the park, hosting games for hundreds of children and giving treats to thousands – our teams selflessly did it all. None of those happy faces greeting the volunteers and receiving ice cream knew what they had been through the previous day. One of the volunteers had just totaled their car in a life-threatening car accident. Another had just returned from a dangerous demining trip. We know that behind the smiles, many volunteers were thinking of the story of the mother and her 9-year-old daughter who were killed by a Russian missile in Kyiv early that morning on Children’s Day.
Stories
Demining of Kherson Region
We continue to support the demining of Kherson area villages. Last week Natasha Mitsuta traveled to the villages of Myroliubivka and Trudoliubivka, which translate as “peace-loving” and “work-loving.” Both villages lived under occupation for 6 months and were full of unexploded shells and mines that sapper groups finally cleared last week. Local farmers shared their concerns with Natasha. For now, sappers were only able to clear the land next to people's homes, but for true rejuvenation of the villages, the vast fields surrounding them need to be de-mined as well.
The local leader shared his thoughts: “Soon we won’t be getting aid, it will be provided to other areas, especially if we get the Russians out. And we wouldn’t even need humanitarian aid, if we had our land. We would earn our living ourselves.” For now the fields remain dangerous. Recently, while scavenging for scrap metal, five people died from an explosion in a nearby field.
Demining of other villages continues. Another team, supported by Alena - our Odesa volunteer - has begun demining the town of Aleksandriivka. Among other items, the villagers were grateful for a microwave and toaster ovens that Alena provided them so they could have warm meals.
Day for the Protection of Children
June 1 is the Day for the Protection of Children in Ukraine. This minor holiday has become a big deal for Ukrainian volunteers who work extra hard to support children of Ukraine, to give them moments of joy despite war that has robbed so many of them of the innocence of childhood.
Alena and her team woke up at 5am. They dressed up as clowns and brought candy, toys and balloons to 9 villages in the Kherson region. They played music, sang songs, danced, and felt immense gratitude from the children and their families, which they would like us to pass along to you, our donors.
Yulia, head of the Kremenchuk branch on Dina’s team, had planned to distribute gifts and sweets to children, but when she surveyed refugee families she supports, she counted 560 children between the ages of 1 and 14. For a crowd that large, permission from the city government would be required. Yulia was afraid to hold the event on June 1st in case of attack from Russians, and decided to host it on June 2nd instead. Prior to the event, the team scouted out nearby bomb shelters to make sure they were easily accessible. Many volunteered to help with the event which had a live science show, children’s face painting, and an MC and his assistants dressed in costumes. Children could sit inside of a police car and fire truck and say something into the loudspeaker. The most common phrases were “Glory to Ukraine!” and “Mama, I love you!” The event was a huge success, and made the local evening news.
As you will see in our team summaries below, five more teams held similar celebrations all across Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Dnipro, Mykolayiv. All of them happened without any central coordination on our part. Volunteers decided to do this, while overcoming many challenges, and brought joy to thousands of kids. Seeing photographs of happy children feels especially important this week against the terrible backdrop of the Kahovka Dam disaster.
Challenging Week for Timur and His Team
It seems that some of our volunteers’ experiences could be made into an action movie. For Timur, this week started off with their trying to reach Kivsharivka where a Russian ballistic missile had hit a residential area. However, they did not make it there.
While they were driving through Kupyansk, the area came under heavy shelling. In the ensuing panic, the team had to swerve off the road to avoid an incoming military vehicle. Their car crashed into a nearby house and was totaled. The team was shaken up but alive, albeit with members of the team suffering a fracture, a concussion, and lots of bruising.
They gave away the aid they had right there in Kupyansk and then had their vehicle towed back to Kharkiv. After a quick hospital check-up, instead of taking a break the next day, they held a major celebration for children, successfully scrambling to keep thousands of ice cream bars from melting. More than 1,000 children attended their party in the park with everything from music to ice cream and gifts to brighten their day.
Team Summaries
Ihor Dobra Sprava (“Good Cause”)
13 trips to deoccupied zones; 167 people evacuated13 trips to deoccupied zones; 167 people evacuated
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Oleksandr S (Boyarka): 3 tons of aid delivered to Siversk (Donetsk frontline); clothing to Chernihiv, generator to Chernihiv Educational Rehabilitation Center for children with disabilities
Vladyslav K (Mykolaiv): 36 tons of drinking water, 251 food kits to Mykolaiv + 179 food kits for the village of Horokhivka
Sandra S (Odesa): kitchen fed more than 1,300 people over three days.
Yury S (Vinnitsa): 1.5 tons of clothes to IDPs in Lityn, groceries and 1 ton of clothes distributed among Vinnytsia, Berezyna and Brusyliv
NGO “We Are at Home” (Hostomel): 2 tons of aid brought in for local elderly and Eastern frontline cities
Pavlo B (Zaporizhzhia): distributed 2,100 bread, 4,800 cans of food and 600 aid packages to 6 villages in the Zaporizhzhia Region
Oleksandr Z (Lutsk): 3 art therapy sessions, day camp for IDP children; delivered aid to 16 IDPs in a psychiatric hospital in the Volyn Region
Angelia - Mobile Clinic
Mobile clinic for period of 5/16-5/30:
Services provided: ENT, family doctors, ECG, labs for blood, urine, sugar
402 patients received 1,390 procedures in Virnopillya, Chuhuiv, Chernihiv, and Bucha
Humanitarian aid for period of 5/2-6/1:
5.7 tons of groceries to Skvyra, Bila Tserkva (both in Kyiv Region) and Kramatorsk (Donetsk Region)
2.4 tons of groceries and clothing for firefighters to Siversk and Sloviansk
3.8 tons of aid to Virnopillya, Kozyatnyn, and Stepantsy
Kseniia’s Team - NGO Livyj Bereh
Kherson team made special aid distributions to children: 630 packages in Kherson and 5 other villages: Fedorivak, Oleksandrivka, Daryivka, Posad Pokrovsk, Chaykine, Ingulivka
5 more roofs reported complete in the villages of Prudianka and Slatyne
The team helped bring electricity to 4 multi-family homes at Prudianka
Natasha - Vysnia Volunteer Center
Demining completed in two more villages
Kryvi Rih team finished seedling distributions in Nova Osokorivka, completing their portion of the agricultural project
Karina - We Save Dnipro
Evacuated 9 people unable to walk on their own from Nikopol and Kryvyi Rih
79 people residing in the shelter
Delivered humanitarian aid to Nikopol/Marganets, Druzhkivka, and Kramatorsk: 130 families helped with food, bedding, sleeping bags, hygiene items, medicine, and pet food
Helped a residential building and a veterinary clinic that was damaged by shelling
Organized a Children’s Day event at the shelter
Painted the shelter and installed carpeting in two rooms
Assisted 6 people from the shelter in finding jobs
Alena - Virgo
Held a Children’s Day event in Kherson region
Began demining of Aleksandrivka and provided basic support and appliances to demining group there
Inna Kampen - Krok Z Nadiyey
Extended agricultural project to cover 2,200 more families in 9 liberated villages of Kharkiv region
Delivered 650 packages to ravaged Kramatorsk, Druzhkovka, Konstantynivka
50 packages delivered to underserved frontline villages of Piddubne and Myrne
During two trips, delivered 150 packages to Berislav, Kherson region
Organized day camp for 40 children in Kharkiv
Distributed 23.4 tons of aid to 8,130 people, plus 11,000 loaves of bread
Timur’s Team – Timur and Team
500 packages distributed in deoccupied Kupyansk
600 aid packages delivered in Saltyvka
Hosted large Children’s Day holiday for thousands of children in Kharkiv
Tetiana’s Team - Dopomoha Poruch
Distributed 227 aid packages in Smila to internally displaced refugees
Distributed 40 aid packages to elderly and people with disabilities through Smila’s department of social services
Delivered 19 packages to a kindergarten in Satanivka
Distributed 13 packages to children in Rotmistrivka
Delivered aid and gifts to the children graduating from the orphanage in Mikhailivka
Pavel - Touch of Heart and Dawn of Hope
1,750 families received help
Organized events for children in Mykolayiv (143 children), Zeleny Hay (60), Prybuzke (43 children)
Due to intensifying shelling in Sumy, Pavel is preparing for evacuation of Sumy orphanages
18 tons of aid received from abroad
We were able to provide shovels, rakes and other tools to three villages in Kherson. These items had mostly been taken by the armies that rolled through these villages.
Andriy - BF Pomahaem
43 people living in Andriy’s shelter
145 packages of hygienic products delivered to Synelnykove
Andriy’s rehabilitation center finished a construction of a unique inclusive playground with swings and a merry-go-round that allow children with disabilities to play. Together with his clown-doctor Jan, Andriy organized a celebration for children at this playground on June 3rd.
Marina – Good Give Ukraine
Delivered 100 aid package to Vilnohirsk
Organized children’s celebration in Piatykhatky
Dina - Vilni Liudy – Vilna Krayina
Provided aid to 390 displaced families
Mailed 100 packages of aid to hard-to-reach places
Organized a large city-level holiday for children in Kremenchuk
Bogdan - Vse robymo sami
Bogdan’s team held art class and therapy group for children and organized a children’s celebration
44 families received aid
US Team
Fundraisers big and small are necessary and very much appreciated. We want to thank two enterprising children for holding a second lemonade stand fundraiser (the first made the paper). We also want to share our gratitude to the organizers of a recent major fundraiser in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia as well as to the amazing Trudy Rubin for sharing about her experiences in Ukraine and her interactions with several of our teams.
How to Help
Donate - The money goes directly to teams providing aid on the ground, who respond dynamically to the most urgent needs.
Fundraise - Organize fundraisers at your school, work, place of worship, with friends and family, etc.
Spread the word - Share our website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn with your friends, family, and colleagues.
Fill out this form if you’re interested in volunteering with us, and we’ll let you know when opportunities come up.
Download and print our flyer. Ask your local coffee shop if you can add it to the bulletin, or use it as part of your fundraiser.
