Under the impact of the war in Europe, aid for the Ukrainian population has started in Berlin. Above all, the aid organizations need money in order to be able to help the masses of people fleeing west and to be able to set up an infrastructure for their care. The German Red Cross (DRK) is preparing a first aid transport that is scheduled to start this Tuesday in Schönefeld.
The trucks are to go to Lublin in Poland. From there, the emergency supplies can be delivered to the population in Ukraine and distributed to help people fleeing. “The transport is the beginning of the development of a supply line for those affected by the armed conflict in Ukraine and for refugees in Poland,” said the General Secretariat of the DRK. There will probably be four trucks making their way. They are loaded with hygiene kits, tents and mattresses at the DRK logistics center at the airport.
The DRK cannot yet accept donations such as clothing or blankets. “How we proceed with donations in kind will be clarified in the next few days,” said a spokeswoman for the aid organization.
Accommodation and sanitary facilities are being built
Germans are very willing to donate. The association “Moabit helps” is preparing for the arrival of many refugees from Ukraine. He calls on people to take them into their own homes. The company’s help is necessary because the state-provided accommodation facilities for refugees are fully utilized even without a war in Ukraine. There are also many private initiatives, such as those of some Berlin restaurant owners who collect donations in kind in Berlin in order to send them to Ukrainian refugees in Poland, Slovakia, Romania or Hungary or directly to the Ukraine.
However, the larger aid organizations are primarily asking for money to build facilities such as shelter and sanitary facilities on the border with Ukraine. Among other things, Caritas is active on site in the Ukraine and helps internally displaced persons. Caritas Poland, for example, has prepared two and a half thousand accommodation places for the refugees. “We are not currently accepting donations in kind,” said a spokesman on Monday. “But we prefer monetary donations because the local helpers can still get things.”
donation opportunities
- DRK: IBAN DE63370205000005023307, BIC BFSWDE33XXX, keyword “Nothilfe Ukraine”
- Caritas: IBAN DE88 6602 0500 0202 0202 02, BIC BFSWDE33KRL, Bank for Social Economy Karlsruhe
- Diaconia: IBAN DE68520604100000502502, BIC GENODEF1EK1, Evangelische Bank
- Ukraine Forum eV: IBAN: DE41 1005 0000 0190996099, BIC: BELADEBEXXX, keyword “HILFE UKRAINE”
The Diakonie also collects donations. Your emergency aid coordinator will check on Tuesday in Poland what is needed – whether it is for shelter, water supply or sanitation. “At the moment everything is still in flux,” says spokeswoman Anne Dreyer. “Cash helps people on the run most effectively.” The crisis is not yet at its peak. Hundreds of thousands are fleeing. That will increase even further in the coming weeks. “That’s why monetary donations are so important to be able to cope with the situation in the coming weeks and months.”
The Berlin association Ukraine Forum is also asking for donations. According to his own statements, he collects these for a facility of the refugee camp and the first-aid facility in Billyi Kamin, in the Lvivska Oblast in western Ukraine. A rehabilitation center for soldiers and veterans was supposed to be built in an empty former clinic. But because of the current situation in Ukraine, a refugee camp is now being set up in the clinic, according to the association. “For this we need mattresses, bed linen, beds, first aid, medical items and long-lasting staple foods.” There is a great need for means of transport for the transport of goods to Ukraine and later there for the soldiers. “We are willing to both buy and rent,” says a club spokesman.
Many people are now involved in collecting donations for the Ukraine aid. For example the organization “Mission Liveline”. So far, the organization has seen its main task as taking in refugees who want to go to Europe on the Mediterranean. She explains on her website: “We decided to send a small convoy to the Slovak-Ukrainian border. There we will support people who are trying to flee from the crisis area to Germany.” At the request of this newspaper, CEO Axel Steier said: “Our convoys primarily transport people from the border regions of Slovakia to destinations where the necessary infrastructure is.” This are, in his words, embassies and shelters. “We do not accept any donations in kind because everything is available at the borders and we do not carry out any transport to Ukraine ourselves.”
Since Sunday, one of those who is already accepting donations in kind is the Pilecki Institute at Pariser Platz 4a, an international research institution dedicated to the history and processing of the experiences of the 20th century. According to a statement, the following are needed: clothing, power banks (backup batteries for mobile phones), canned food, hand and head lamps, first aid kits and camping gas stoves.