Slovak humanitarian organisations, united in the Ambrela platform, began planning and coordinating the distribution of humanitarian aid to the Kherson region immediately upon receiving news of the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam. Within a few days, the first trucks with drinking water, food and hygiene supplies reached those in need. Eight aid collections for people in Ukraine have been announced.
After last week's destruction of the dam on the Dnipro River in the Ukrainian town of Nova Kakhovka, more than 17,000 people were left in need. That is why Slovak humanitarian organisations decided to provide urgent assistance to the local population. In the first hours, the deployment of rescue and extrication units and the provision of temporary shelter were most important, but after the water level receded, the needs of the victims of this humanitarian and environmental disaster will change. "At the end of the week, our organisations sent the first deliveries of humanitarian aid (mainly bottled drinking water) to the affected areas and distributed it to those in need. Eight members and observers of Ambrela are helping on the ground, namely: ADRA Slovensko, Človek v ohrození, MAGNA, Nadácia Integra, Slovenská katolícka charita together with Spišská katolícka charita, STEP IN and UNICEF Slovensko," says the platform's executive secretary, Daniel Kaba. In connection with the Ukrainian crisis, these organisations have also announced aid collections to which financial contributions can be made: • ADRA SLOVENSKO: https://www.adra.sk/ako-pomahame/vo-svete/ukrajina/ • ČLOVEK V OHROZENÍ: https://clovekvohrozeni.sk/pomoc-ukrajina/ • MAGNA: https://www.magna.org/countries/ukrajina/ • NADÁCIA INTEGRA: https://integra.sk/kampane/kriza-na-ukrajine/ • SLOVENSKÁ KATOLÍCKA CHARITA: https://charita.darujme.sk/kamion-do-chersonu/ • SPIŠSKÁ KATOLÍCKA CHARITA: https://caritas.sk/ukrajina/ • STEP IN: https://step-in-project.org/ukraine/ • UNICEF SLOVENSKO: www.unicef.sk/ukrajina
More than 200,000 people in the flooded area were left without drinking water. Our member Človek v ohrození together with its sister organisation Člověk v tísni is already distributing 120,000 litres of drinking water, water tanks and one thousand hygiene kits for people affected by the disaster on site. Two other member organisations, ADRA Slovensko and Slovenská katolícka charita, have also dispatched the first trucks with drinking water for the affected Kherson region. In addition to access to water, it is essential to provide the local population with food and hygiene supplies. Volunteer teams from Spišská katolícka charita, for example, are already distributing these from their warehouses.
Humanitarian Disaster Coordinator at Človek v ohrození, Marián Cehelník, states that "the distribution of hygiene supplies to prevent mould, as well as fans to speed up the drying of homes, will be important". The Administrator of Nadácia Integra, Allan Bussard, in turn recalls that "many of those in need are also in occupied areas, where intervention was difficult even before the flood. However, local partners have found the capacity to channel material humanitarian aid to critical locations as well."
Three other Ambrela humanitarian organisations (STEP IN, MAGNA and UNICEF) are also operating in Ukraine, primarily in healthcare and psychosocial support. A Spilno centre has been set up at the Kherson railway station where children can play safely. UNICEF mobile teams and partners are also deployed at other railway and bus stations in the Kherson region, distributing aid.
The rapid deployment and enormous effort of the Slovak Ambrela NGOs in providing immediate assistance to those in need after the flooding of the Kherson region due to the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam should be highlighted. Great thanks also go to Slovak donors for their solidarity, trust in civil society organisations and willingness to help. Within just four days, donations worth 45,000 euros were sent to help the affected Ukrainian population as part of the Človek v ohrození collection alone.
More info about the Ambrela platform: Platform of Development Organisations – Ambrela brings together three dozen mostly non-governmental organisations in Slovakia that focus on humanitarian aid, development cooperation and global education – at home and abroad. Since February 2022, the Ambrela Secretariat has been coordinating the Working Group on Humanitarian Aid (WG HA) for Ukraine and the so-called humanitarian corridor, which members of the WG HA use for distribution at the Vyšné Nemecké and Ubľa border crossings. It also collects and evaluates data on distributed aid from them (for advocacy and awareness-raising purposes). In the first year of the war, Slovak humanitarian organisations managed to raise up to EUR 16.8 million to help people from Ukraine and transport humanitarian aid worth at least EUR 22 million there. These organisations helped not only in regions close to the border with Slovakia, but also in areas near the front line. More about Slovakia's aid to Ukraine – read in Ambrela's thematic Factsheet here: https://ambrela.org/spravy/factsheet-o-pomoci-na-ukrajine-2022/