The Ukraine Crisis Appeal, Australia’s largest tax-deductible fundraising effort for Ukraine, is asking Australians not to forget Ukraine as the brutal Russian invasion continues into its fourth month, causing immeasurable destruction and suffering for millions of innocent Ukrainian men, women and children.
“I have just come back from visiting war-torn areas of Ukraine – Kyiv, Bucha and Irpin – where we are delivering humanitarian aid. I could still smell the smoke of missile destroyed buildings. The pain was real. People have lost everything – their homes, their livelihoods, sometimes loved ones, ” said Mr Stefan Romaniw, OAM, Co-Chair of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO), which manages the Ukraine Crisis Appeal fund in collaboration with Rotary Australian World Community Service and Caritas Ukraine.
“We are deeply grateful to the more than 10,000 donors who have pledged over $6.6 million to the Ukraine Crisis Appeal since February 2022. But we can’t sink into ‘Ukraine fatigue’ and think there’s nothing more we can do. Almost 12 million Ukrainians are internally displaced. 220,000 people have lost their homes. Thousands, including hundreds of children, have lost their lives. The need for essential supplies is urgent and ongoing,” he added.
Since 24 February 2022, the Ukraine Crisis Appeal and a Medical Aid subcommittee have helped over 1.2 million Ukrainians with basic food, water and hygiene kits, delivered over $2 million of medical aid donated by Australian hospitals and flown at no cost to Ukraine, and invested in emergency dormitories in Kyiv.
The Medical Aid subcommittee has also secured more than $15 million of orthopaedic equipment, able to save the lives of over 750 people, from Device Technologies for $500,000.
“We have been able to deliver aid quickly, directly and organically to where it’s needed, through our local contacts and established presence in Ukraine since 2015,” said Ms Darka Senko, AFUO Director of Humanitarian Aid Initiatives.
“Millions of Ukrainians will need help in the critical weeks and months ahead. Due to indiscriminate Russian bombing, shelling and mining, nowhere is safe in Ukraine. Not people’s homes, not hospitals, not the streets where people live. Australians have been amazingly generous to date. We hope they continue to help Ukraine until this war ends,” she added.
Media inquiries:
Stefan Romaniw (AFUO Co-Chair) – 0419 531 255
Darka Senko (AFUO Director of Humanitarian Aid Initiatives) – 0417 237 938
Liz Paslawsky (Chair, International Coordination for Medical Aid in Ukraine) – 0401 144 631
