Crown Agents

Crown Agents are a not-for-profit international development organisation focused on supporting the most vulnerable across the globe. They have been working in Ukraine for the last 25 years with offices in Kyiv, Lviv, scattered around Ukraine, Poland and Slovakia.  Crown Agents have been working directly with the Ministry of Health (MoH) for the last 5 years helping to improve their medical systems and procurement. For the last two years they have also been the sole COVID19 vaccine procurement agent for the Ukrainian government. They know the country well and are deeply rooted in the communities.

The MoH is most sighted on the needs of Ukraine at this difficult time and have contacted Crown Agents with three top priorities:

• 200,000 Individual First Aid Kits that help stop people bleeding out from shrapnel wounds.
• 50,000 items of Protective Paramedic Equipment for doctors and nurses treating people on the streets and are getting shot.
• Search and Rescue Equipment that help rescue teams aid civilians stuck under rubble because of Russian military air strikes.

As one of a few organisations, that can work in Ukraine, Crown Agents are focussing on getting this aid where it is most needed. Working with the MOH, they have several channels open and access to a network of warehouses that are still standing. They only use small vans, so that they don’t get Russian interest from their helicopters.

How You Can Help Crown Agents

The fighting is intensifying in Ukraine, and many civilian areas and hospitals are the siege targets. Up to now, Crown Agents have sent 11,000 kits, but more are needed and they aim to secure donations towards the procurement and delivery of the balance of 39,000 Individual First Aid Kits, 50,000 items of Protective Paramedic Equipment and Search and Rescue Equipment that will be delivered immediately to the Ministry of Health in Ukraine. They aim to raise a total of £5 million as urgently towards this worthwhile cause. Visit Crown Agents Just Giving page to donate.

For more information please contact:

Keith Kibirango MCIOF (Dip)

Email: Keith.Kibirango@crownagents.co.uk

The International Rescue Committee 

The IRC responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and gain control of their future. Over the last several weeks, the IRC has had a team in Poland working to quickly mobilise resources and connect with partners to establish a response that will provide life-saving support to civilians forced to flee. The IRC are meeting with partners and local civil society organizations in Poland and Ukraine to meet the humanitarian needs that arise as conflict forces people to flee to neighbouring countries and inside Ukraine itself. They are preparing to respond to where they are most needed and ready for all eventualities. You can find an overview of the IRC’s Ukrainian response here.

How You Can Help the IRC

• Donate -In 2021, the IRC joined the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), a network of 15 leading UK aid charities. They recently launched an appeal in support of those fleeing Ukraine. Funds will be used to provide immediate relief for emergency supplies and to support local organisations in Poland and Ukraine.
• Hear directly from the team – The IRC will be hosting a Ukraine Emergency Briefing on 17^th You can register for the virtual event here.
• Follow the IRC on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn) where they share regular updates.
• Sign upfor their newsletter to stay up to date on IRC’s work in Ukraine and around the world
• Sign the IRC UK’s petitioncalling on the UK government to welcome refugees fleeing Ukraine
• Readarticles by the IRC’s CEO and President, David Miliband for the New York Times and The Guardian. In addition from their UK Executive Director, Laura Kryke Smith in The Times.

For more information please contact:

Alaina Patterson

Email: alaina.patterson@rescue.org

Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a global team of humanitarians, working together in more than 41 countries around the world and on the front lines of today’s biggest crises. Mercy Corps work in partnership with local organisations and provide urgent lifesaving relief to help meet people’s basic needs – whilst working towards integrated, long-term solutions. By partnering with foundations, corporations, social entrepreneurs, governments, local leaders and changemakers, and those most affected by crises, Mercy Corps brings a comprehensive approach to every challenge and seeks breakthrough innovations that transform lives.

Mercy Corps is on the ground in Ukraine, Romania, and Poland. They are currently funding local organisations that know their community needs best and are already working to meet urgent needs, such as distributing items like medical supplies and food staples as well as supporting marginalised groups like third-country nationals crossing from Ukraine into neighbouring countries.

Mercy Corps are constantly assessing the situation on the ground to determine how much cash people need to meet their most basic needs such as food and shelter. It is important that before beginning to provide cash assistance, they determine the most efficient and effective way, whether that is through mobile money or pre-paid cards that can be used at stores or ATMs. Mercy Corps is a leader in cash-based aid. Cash gives people the freedom of choosing what they need the most; and cash supports local markets and helps businesses stay afloat and provide the necessary items people need.  We use many different approaches to ensure we respond appropriately to the local conditions and needs of a given emergency.

How You Can Help Mercy Corps

We are urgently seeking flexible funding to enable us to meet the immediate and evolving needs of communities within a dynamic conflict setting. Ways you can support:

• Donate
• Fundraise for us
• Amplify our appeal on social media: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

For more information please contact:

Laura Swan

Email: europe-partnerships@mercycorps.org

How To Change The World 

How To Change The World works to mobilise and empower individuals, organisations and communities to collaboratively tackle our world’s greatest challenges. They have begun work to support the needs of the Ukrainian Higher Education community – both those who have been displaced and those who remain in Ukraine.

HTCTW held a powerful meeting at The Conduit between key individuals in the higher education area. A recording of the event will be shared soon. It was identified that a secretariat support is needed, either within another institution or the creation of a new focused entity. In order to progress with these ideas, HTCTW is look for Ukrainian academics who are safe and stable and willing to help form the foundation of a secretariat. The plans also need engagement with international universities, consultancy firms and ed-tech organisations. Please get in touch if you have knowledge, expertise or contacts in any of these areas.

Other recommended organisations:

• The World Food Programme has been working on the ground to provide food assistance for people fleeing the conflict both within the country and in neighbouring ones. WFP is scaled up to reach 3.15 million through cash-based transfer as well as in-kind food distributions. To make a direct donation to WFP visit this link. For more information contact Elisabeth Faure, Director of WFP UK (Elisabeth.faure@wfp.org)

• British Ukrainian Society

• Ukrainian Army fund set up by the Ukrainian government.

• Save the Children their focus is on the Rights of the Child, refugee support, education, healthcare of children.

• Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain are the largest Ukrainian diaspora community in UK).

• British-Ukraine Aid provide assistance to vulnerable individuals who have been physically, mentally or socially disadvantaged, including the injured and wounded, orphaned children, the elderly, internally displaced persons and families who have lost their main earners. More information here.

• RAZOM: Emergency Response provide tactical medical training, helping qualified war medics teach civilians first aid and provide them with medical supplies.

• UN Crisis Relief: Ukrainian Humanitarian Fund– contributions are collected into a single, unearmarked fund and managed locally under UN leadership. As crises evolve, funds are made directly and immediately available to a wide range of partner organizations at the front lines of response. This way, funding reaches the people most in need when they need it.

• Cook For Ukraine aims to increase awareness, alongside raising funds to aid children and families in Ukraine who have been displaced. #CookForUkraine also provides a platform for Ukrainian families and their supporters to share recipes with each other, along with the stories behind those dishes, keeping the spirit of Ukraine alive.