EU- funded project “Volunteering during the war”: support to the communities of the Donetsk region

The NGO “SHTUKA” has five years of experience in implementing various cultural initiatives for young people in the communities of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. But with the beginning of a full-scale war, the team faced new challenges.

“Until February 24, we were engaged in artistic and creative projects, we even started large-scale filming of art cinema and video blogs about Donetsk region,” said Yevgeniy Brazhko, director of the NGO “SHTUKA”. “But after the full-scale invasion, we immediately launched activities to help residents and displaced persons in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Now we want to resume our activities in the creative field.”

From the first days of the war, the organisation had to search for optimal channels for the purchase of products for the formation of humanitarian kits, establish logistical routes to optimize delivery, and find volunteers on the ground.

To help the civilian population, the organisation also attracted grant funding from the #EU4CSOs Emergency Actions project (https://eu4csos.org), implementing its project “Volunteering during the war”. The focus is on supporting the communities of the Donetsk region, which host IDPs and those who are directly suffering as a result of hostilities.

In almost six months, the NGO “SHTUKA” managed to deliver to these communities more than 5,000 food and 1,500 hygiene kits, about 200 items of clothing for IDPs, and various energy carriers to shelters and communal institutions of cities located in the combat zone, as well as over-the-counter medicines. In total, the organisation delivered humanitarian aid in the amount of 3.5 million hryvnias. In addition, 10 bicycles from U-Cycle were donated to volunteers in Donetsk region to help them with mobility and movement.

Today, the NGO “SHTUKA” is also starting to implement a media project to highlight the current state of affairs in the communities of Donetsk region in video format for Western audiences (EU, UK, US), and also talks about the activities of famous Ukrainian volunteers in the format of video podcasts.

Currently, the NGO “SHTUKA” actively continues to attract resources to provide assistance to people suffering from hostilities, and also works on preparing the communities of the Donetsk region for the winter period.

The project “Volunteering during the war” was supported within the framework of the sub-grant call from the EU4CSOs Emergency Actions project, which is implemented by the charitable organisation “Network of 100 percent life Rivne” with the financial support of the European Union.