HELP UKRAINIANS IN NEED - Appeal

Dear friends of the DRA,

On Thursday morning, Vladimir Putin began his attack on Ukraine. Now many cities in the country are under attack.

Ukrainians are now fighting for peace, for their lives, their future and their right to live according to their own values and choices. After the annexation of Crimea and the conflict in Donbass, there is a new war in Ukraine, in the middle of Europe. A war which can become much bloodier, to which countless people could fall victim and which, despite diplomatic efforts, could not be prevented in recent weeks. These are catastrophic prospects for the people of Ukraine, but also for the European peace order as a whole.

For this reason, Ukrainians now need every possible form of support and help. We must make visible the people affected and the damage to them and their lives. Humanitarian aid is now urgently needed in Ukrainian cities, villages and settlements, for which we call for donations and which we must distribute.

Power outages occur not only in the contested Ukrainian regions and cities, so that where there are generators, fuel (gasoline and diesel) is needed to ensure a minimum power supply in hospitals or other public utilities. There is also often a lack of essentials, such as food, diapers for bedridden people and children, hygiene articles, medicines and much more.

We therefore want to financially support non-profit Ukrainian organizations that provide humanitarian aid.

The head of the organization Plich-o-Plich, Tatiana Koshel, delivers essential goods along the demarcation line at Bakhmut.

Furthermore, there is the possibility to donate to the charity “Avalist”, whose leader is currently also under fire in the eastern Ukrainian conflict areas. She helps the local people in every possible way. Avalist reports on the few air raid shelters in Popasna, Shastia, Novoaidar and Gorske.

Most of these air raid shelters in a very bad condition, which is a great danger, as these territories are under heavy fire. In Gorske e.g. there is a school and a kindergarten, and there is not a single cellar or shelter in the community where children could hide.

The air raid shelters need inventory, such as doors, chairs, but also a basic supply of water supplies and other vital things. Photos of the current state of these rooms can be seen below.

Many are or will soon be on a very difficult escape route, so we are also looking for free accommodation for refugees from Ukraine. In case of temporarily vacant premises, please contact info@austausch.org. Further contacts:

In the same way, educational institutions and places are also in need of support. We will continue to try through the local partners to invest in the (re-)construction and restoration, equipment of educational institutions.

You can also contact us if you have a car and would be willing to bring individual Ukrainians from Poland or Slovakia to Germany.

We must not allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the fear we all feel. We have to keep in mind that now especially the Ukrainians are afraid - and still stand up for their country. It is necessary to bring these people and their initiatives into a peace movement that we must mobilize now. This will not be easy - but it is an indispensable task for the public, civil society and also specifically for us as DRA.

We think of our many friends and colleagues and partners, not least those of the DRA in eastern Ukraine. We will be in constant contact with the partners and colleagues and help with all the forces we can mobilize.

Therefore, we ask you for your generous donation, so that together we can at least help alleviate the terrible consequences of military violence for the Ukrainian population.

The donations can be transferred to the association account of the DRA e.V.:

DRA e.V.

IBAN: DE83 1002 0500 0003 3181 00

BIC: BFSWDE33BER

Purpose: Aid for Ukraine

 

We thank you very much, the management of the DRA

Stefan Melle

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