The second highest collection in the thirty-year history of the ADRA Czech Republic
Food and hygiene packages for 39,000 people in Ukraine, 450 tons of humanitarian aid, and 2,548 people evacuated from war zones. Another 56,000 people supported within the Czech Republic with the help of 2,275 volunteers. This was the balance of ADRA Czech Republic three months after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
In the first three months after the start of the war, they collected 89 million Czech koruna (crowns) in the SOS ADRA – Help to Ukraine public fundraiser, and donors donated material aid worth another 30 million crowns. This is the second-highest collection in the thirty-year history of the ADRA CZ organization.
“Behind every given number lies the story of a person whom we were able to help thanks to the support of donors and the commitment of our teams. Sometimes by providing basic needs such as food or medicine, sometimes by a helping hand on the journey from the native land to the unknown. In many cases, without exaggeration, we saved people’s bare lives when our evacuation teams transported them from war zones to safety. Although we are used to helping during war conflicts and natural disasters, the invasion of Ukraine has affected us greatly and is also a great challenge for us as an organization. I appreciate the work and dedication of all our employees and volunteers, as well as the huge wave of solidarity from the people of the Czech Republic”, says ADRA director Radomír Špinka.
ADRA helps both directly in Ukraine and in the Czech Republic. In Ukraine, this mainly concerns material aid and the evacuation of people from bombed cities. The organization closely cooperates with the local branch of ADRA Ukraine, which initially provided methodological and material support and helped with logistics. Now, ADRA Ukraine teams are on-site distributing humanitarian aid sent by trucks from the Czech Republic. They then evacuate people to safety using means of transport, purchased and supported by the ADRA collection.
The Czech ADRA delivered 25 trucks of humanitarian aid to Ukraine in three months, from mattresses and sleeping bags, through durable food and water to drugstores. In total, there were 720 pallets and 98 cartons with a total volume of 450 tons. Food aid and hygiene packages were provided to a total of 38,851 people. Furthermore, two deliveries with medical supplies were dispatched. Company partners donated goods to Ukraine with a total value of 25 million crowns, other aid was paid for from the funds of the collection. Of those, 9 minibuses and a bus were also purchased. Loaded with humanitarian aid, they head to war-torn areas, then fill up with evacuees on the way back. By end of May, a total of 2,548 people have been transported to safety.
Due to the huge number of people fleeing the war to the Czech Republic, the volunteer centers of ADRA, which normally do not provide direct humanitarian aid, are getting involved to an unprecedented extent. Since the very beginning of the conflict, they have been coordinating volunteers at the Regional Assistance Centers for Helping Ukraine, helping at railway stations and providing material and psychosocial assistance. In recent weeks, they have been focusing on long-term activities aimed at the integration of newcomers into Czech society: from the organization of Czech language courses, through events for Ukrainian parents and children, to the establishment of children’s groups and counseling.
A total of 2,275 volunteers were involved in helping refugees. Over 22,000 refugees received material aid (e.g. clothes, food, drugstores, furniture, etc.), almost 1,400 of them participated in courses and other events, and the activities of the volunteer centers had an impact on 56,000 people in total. Corporate donors provided material aid worth 5 million crowns.
“I would like to thank our volunteer centers and all the volunteers who help with dreams. Everyone was able to react very quickly and start helping where it was needed, many of them are still helping today. Please continue to persevere, we still desperately need volunteers”, appeals Petr Adamus, head of volunteering at ADRA, and adds a call for those interested in volunteering to report to the ADRA organization using an electronic form.
