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CAFOD

Ukraine crisis: An update on CAFOD's response and how you can help

30 August 2023

CAFOD stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Our sister Caritas agencies and partner organisations are helping people across Ukraine and the wider region.

What is the latest news on the situation in Ukraine?

As winter approaches, millions in displacement centres and damaged homes face temperatures below -20C. An estimated 1.4 million houses have been damaged by the war, and it is mostly older people and people with disabilities who remain behind in homes with leaking roofs, broken windows and no access to heating.

CAFOD's local partner, DePaul Ukraine, is respondinged to support those along the hardest-hit frontline areas in eastern and southern Ukraine. They are providing shelter, food, water, generators, blankets and medical assistance to those most in need.

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Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

With your help, we can keep supporting the increasing number of families who are in desperate need.

Your donations will help local experts in Ukraine to keep providing:

  • food

  • water

  • healthcare

  • shelter and clothing

  • counselling.

Depaul Ukraine has supported homeless people in Ukraine since 2007, so we know that winter is a dangerous time. Every year, homeless people die in Ukraine due to hyperthermia and frostbite. This year, there will be significantly more homeless people, as well as people whose homes have been damaged during the war. During the winter months, we will continue delivering food, hygiene and medical supplies. Depaul’s large-scale humanitarian response has transported more than 1000 tonnes of food aid, hygiene items and medical equipment into the country.

Father Vitaliy Novak, CEO of DePaul Ukraine, CAFOD's local partner
Europe - Ukraine - Caritas Poland

A Caritas Poland volunteer helps a woman who has fled Ukraine. More than 5 million people have already had to leave the country.

More than 17 million people, almost half the current population of Ukraine, are now in need of humanitarian aid. Fighting and indiscriminate bombing of civilian targets has caused civilian casualties and massive damage to homes and infrastructure.

Five million people have been displaced within Ukraine, while many others – in particular elderly people – are stranded in areas affected by active fighting. People lack access to food, water, health and mental health care, education, and other essential services. Many are living in damaged homes ill-suited to provide protection from Ukraine’s freezing winter temperatures.

According to the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR), over 6 million people have fled Ukraine into neighbouring countries and beyond (mainly to Poland, Hungary, Moldova and Romania). Most of those who have fled are women and children, having to leave behind their loved ones.

How is CAFOD responding to the crisis in Ukraine?

We are part of one of the largest aid networks in the world – Caritas Internationalis – and because of our global reach and local presence, we are there when an emergency hits. Our Ukrainian and neighbouring Caritas local aid workers and volunteers are part of the communities they work with and many are displaced by the war themselves. They understand people’s immediate needs and are best placed to respond.

Donations to CAFOD’s appeal are helping Caritas organisations to continue and expand their life-saving activities:

  • Caritas Ukraine has 40 regional centres across the country and are one of the largest Ukrainian organisations delivering humanitarian aid. They are extremely experienced, having been active for 30 years and have been responding to the conflict in eastern Ukraine since 2014. They are helping by:

    • Running warm and safe ‘collective centres’ which provide beds, food, washing facilities, and safe spaces where children can play sports and do arts and crafts as a means of coping with their experiences. Displaced families can also receive up-to-date information, referrals to local services and psychosocial support.

    • Evacuating vulnerable people from near the frontlines and transporting them to friends, family, or the collective centres for shelter and support.

    • Raising awareness of the risks of human trafficking facing displaced people and providing individually tailored long-term support to survivors of trafficking.

  • Caritas Spes-Ukraine, a charity of the Religious Mission of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine, mobilised at the start of the conflict to respond by:

    • Providing hot meals and humanitarian aid in their centres across the country and to people who have fled to the borders.

    • Providing emergency shelter in frontline areas, often in parish basements they have equipped with bedding and supplies.

    • Running mental health counselling projects for children and mothers who have been displaced and are traumatised by their experiences.

  • Caritas Poland, Caritas Romania, Caritas Moldova and Caritas Slovakia are all supporting people who have fled Ukraine and are in need of food, water, and shelter upon reaching safety. They are also supporting refugees in neighbouring countries to learn local languages, register for state support, and integrate into their new host communities.

Please donate now to help us support homeless Ukrainian families and refugees

Your generous donations to CAFOD and the DEC's Appeals are already reaching those in need. Jo Kitterick, CAFOD's Director of Fundraising and Community Participation, said: 

“This amazing show of support for people fleeing the conflict has meant that we have been able to start spending money straight away to help more people.

“Through our international partner Caritas, we are working inside Ukraine and on its borders, setting up safe centres with beds, food and washing facilities. We’re also providing transport, information, psychological support and child-friendly spaces."

This amazing show of support for people fleeing the conflict has meant that we have been able to start spending money straight away to help more people.

Jo Kitterick, CAFOD's Director of Fundraising and Community Participation