Story from Ukraine Rotarian

Rotary International Ukraine

It is a tragic and sad time for the people of Ukraine and the world.

As one of the world’s largest humanitarian organizations, we have made peace the cornerstone of our global mission. We join the international community in calling for an immediate cease fire, withdrawal of Russian forces, and a restoration of diplomatic efforts to resolve this conflict through dialogue.

In the past decade, Rotary clubs in Ukraine, Russia and nearby countries have transcended national differences and have actively engaged in peace-building projects to promote goodwill and to marshal assistance for the victims of war and violence. Today, our thoughts are with our fellow Rotary members and others in Ukraine coping with these tragic events. Rotary International will do everything in its power to bring aid, support and peace to the region.

The Rotary Foundation collected $15.3m in the Disaster Response Fund specifically for projects  supporting  Ukrainians, whether in their own country or elsewhere; donations specifically for this purpose were collected in March and April 2022,   This £15.3m has now been fully allocated as grants to districts, with 10% of those grants being to districts in GB&I; some of this is helping locally in Ukraine, other amounts are supporting people displaced to GB&I.  

Further support for the displaced people ot Ukraine is available from The Rotary Foundation through the use of District and Global Grants.  Many of you will have developed good contacts in the central European region, so pairing with Rotary clubs there may assist wit the speedy development of joint projects where Global Grants could be available.

Clubs in D1070 have additionally contributed £68,000 to our District Aid to Ukraine Fund and over £58,000 has already been distributed, through Rotary Clubs in Poland and Romania, to refugee relief work. 

A Refugee Response Team has been formed in the District under the auspices of the International Team – the team will try to ascertain what needs the refugees have and in what manner we can assist; this information should eventually be available from local councils but is not yet. The answers we get to these questions will inform our decisions as to what grants may be available. If you become aware of refugees in need of assistance please contact either Hugh Holden or Karl Flowers, our DISC, with your information. 

The Member Center in My Rotary contains much useful and interesting information about Rotary in Ukraine and the efforts our fellow Rotarians in countries neighbouring the Ukraine are making during the current emergency situation; it also contains a list of contacts across Europe responsible for Rotary Aid to Refugees this is available here.  Below are extracts from 2 emails received from Zamosc and Suceava – the clubs'  Facebook pages also show a little of what these clubs are doing. RC Zamosc Ordonyzca - We thank you for your contributions, which are very important and allow us to help the Refugees here in Poland. 

As you probably know, in Poland there are over 4 million refugees. The real big challenges are in front of us, because our main goal is to help mothers and children, who are in Poland. In this tragic situation the phenomenon is that many Poles receive them in their own homes. Unfortunately, not everyone can be provided with such accommodation. There are help centres in many rural towns that were always under-invested and need to be adjusted to provide the refugees with necessary conditions, preparing clean places for sleep, toilets, kitchens, etc. We also try to relocate the refugees to other countries, Sweden, Denmark, Germany. 

We are covering the transport fees. We are not able to meet the needs that are getting bigger every week. RC Suceava Buvocina - Today a new transport containing food and hygiene products was delivered to a refugee group in Ukraine by the Rotary Club Suceava Bucovina. The volunteer work was done in a huge proportion by our Rotaractors and Interactors. 3 days to sort the received products into categories, buy more products, organize them on pallets ready for transport. Many thanks to these amazing young people. This delivery and several new ones in coming weeks are a direct result of the support we recently received from District 1070 UK, RCs Walsall Saddlers and Wolverhampton. We deeply appreciate your efforts and assistance.