Eastern Europe | Ukraine

Helping people in Ukraine | ASB Foreign Aid

The ASB has been active in Ukraine since 1993 and works closely with the local Samaritan Federation (SSU) on the ground. Since the beginning of the conflict in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Samaritans, together with local partner organisations, have been helping people in need. Currently, the ASB provides aids to the population in the occupied territories in the east and supports internally displaced persons as well as host communities in western and central Ukraine. Since 2016, the ASB has also been registered in Ukraine as an independent non-governmental organisation. There are currently around 15 staff members working in the Kiev and Lviv offices.

Projects in Ukraine | Details

These are the ASB Foreign Aid projects in Ukraine:

Emergency humanitarian assistance for conflict-affected people of Ukraine including Ukrainians who fled to Georgia
Back to school
Points of Invincibility
Modernisation of medical equipment for the rehabilitation of seven healthcare facilities
Humanitarian aid for those affected by the conflict
Emergency assistance for internally displaced persons in 2023
Assistance to internally displaced persons
Emergency assistance for internally displaced persons in collective shelters in 2022
Fitting out collective shelters

Ukraine Emergency Relief

Projects in Ukraine

Modernisation of medical equipment for the rehabilitation of seven healthcare facilities

The aim of the project is to help strengthen the healthcare system in Ukraine and ensure access to high-quality, life-saving healthcare, particularly for communities affected by war. ASB is supporting healthcare facilities across the country with medical equipment and reconstruction materials to help improve healthcare for the local population at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. This is crucial in order to counter existing health problems and ensure high-quality healthcare.

Project title: Modernisation of medical equipment for the rehabilitation of seven healthcare facilities
Project region: Kyiv region: Boyarka, Vorzel; Lviv region: Mykolaiv; Donetsk region: Avdeevka, Toretsk, Pokrovsk(some of the clinics have been relocated to other regions of Ukraine and are being supported at the new locations)
Donor: ASB Austria, Nachbar in Not (NiN)
Project volume: 1.600.000€
Project duration: 01.01.2024 – 31.12.2024
Beneficiaries: Patients and employees in healthcare facilities

Find out more about the current project.

Back to school

The project allows children and teachers to return to face-to-face classes by building a bomb shelter in a school in the village of Korolivka, Bucha district, Kyiv region, thus significantly shortening the distance to the nearest shelter. In addition, all school staff and pupils will be able to take part in safety and first aid training courses. Besides, teaching quality will be improved by providing necessary teaching material.

Project title: Back to School
Project region: Korolivka, Bucha district, Kyiv region
Donor: Aktion Deutschland Hilft (ADH)
Project volume: 240.000,00 €
Project duration: 15.01.2024 – 15.11.2024
Beneficiaries: Pupils, preschool children, teachers, technical & kindergarden staff

Find out more about the current project.

Points of Invincibility

The Ukrainian Samaritan organisation SSU, ASB's local partner, is providing two points of invincibility in coordination with the city of Kyiv's civil protection department. The people affected by war can warm up there, charge their mobile devices and are provided with hot meals. The points of invincibility also have overnight accommodation capacity in case people lose their homes as a result of attacks and need short-term accommodation.

Project title: Points of Invincibility
Project region: Kyiv, Ukraine
Donor: ADH – Aktion Deutschland Hilft
Project volume: 207.327,61€ & 463.256,50€
Project duration: 01.01.2023 – 31.05.2023 & 01.10.2023 – 30.04.2024
Beneficiaries: War-affected population in Kyiv and Kyiv region, especially internally displaced persons, unemployed people; people whose homes have been damaged, elderly people, people living alone, people with disabilities and families with many children

Find out more about the current project.

Emergency humanitarian assistance for conflict-affected people of Ukraine including Ukrainians who fled to Georgia

The project continues ASB's efforts to support the Ukrainian population in meeting their basic needs following the Russian invasion. The aim of the project is to provide humanitarian aid to the war-affected population in Ukraine and to support Ukrainians who have fled to Georgia. The people receive assistance through cash, food and hygiene packages, winterization and psychosocial support.

Project title: Emergency humanitarian assistance through cash, in-kind and services in the areas of basic needs, food security, hygiene, winterization and psychosocial support for conflict-affected people of Ukraine including Ukrainians who fled to Georgia.
Project financing: German Federal Foreign Office
Project duration: 14.06.2023 – 31.12.2024
Project region: Ukraine and Georgia
Project volume: approx. 22,7 Mio. EUR
Target group: Internally displaced persons, refugees, vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, the elderly, children and female-headed households.

Find out more about the project here.

Humanitarian aid for those affected by the conflict

The project’s original aim was to support the conflict-affected population along the line of contact in eastern Ukraine for 24 months, for example through multi-purpose cash payments (MPC), the provision of food, hygiene products and winter aid and psychosocial support. As a result of the Russian invasion in February 2022, the project was adapted to the changed needs. The support has now be expanded to include people from across the country.

Project title: Multisectoral humanitarian assistance in the form of money, supplies and services for basic needs, food security, hygiene, winter aid and psychosocial support to people along the line of contact in eastern Ukraine affected by the conflict
Project region: At the start of the project, eastern Ukraine, Luhansk and Donetsk Oblast in particular; now also central and western Ukraine
Project volume: € 11,467,015.65
Project financing: Federal Foreign Office
Project duration: 14/06/2021 - 13/06/2023 (24 months)

Find out more about the current project here.

Emergency assistance for internally displaced persons in 2023

The ASB helps the people of the western Ukrainian Lvivska Oblast and the Donetsk Oblast in the east of the country. Donetsk Oblast is under the temporary military control of the Russian Federation. The project activities in both regions are adapted to the context and living conditions of the people affected by the war: the ASB distributes cash assistance to internally displaced persons in Lvivska Oblast. In Donetsk Oblast, the local partner HADC supports internally displaced people with food and hygiene products. Aid is provided in particularly to women and children.

Project title: Emergency assistance to IDPs in Ukraine
Project region: Lviv and Donetsk regions
Project volume: € 2,008,606
Project financing: Nachbar in Not (NiN) with funds from the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and ASB Austria
Project duration: 01/03/2023 - 31/12/2023 (10 months)

Find out more about the project here.

Assistance to internally displaced persons

The ASB provides support for internally displaced persons in western Ukraine. The focus is on women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities.

Project title: Multisectoral assistance to IDPs in Ukraine
Project region: Western Ukraine, Lviv Oblast
Project volume: € 1,078,975
Project financing: Christian Blind Mission (CBM)
Project duration: 16/05/2022 - 15/09/2022 (4 months)

Find out more about the project here.

Emergency assistance for internally displaced persons in collective shelters in 2022

The ASB assists internally displaced persons in collective shelters in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Zakarpattia and Donetsk. Women and children in particular receive support.

Project title: Emergency assistance to IDPs in collective centres in Ukraine
Project region: Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Zakarpattia and Donetsk regions
Project volume: € 503,981.95, € 524,899.06
Project financing: Nachbar in Not (NiN) and ASB Austria
Project duration: 01/06/2022 - 15/09/2022 (3.5 months), 01/09/2022 - 31/12/2022 (4 months)

Find out more about the project here.

Fitting out collective shelters

The ASB provides assistance to internally displaced persons living in collective shelters in Lviv, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk and Zakarpattia.

Project title: Support to IDPs in western Ukraine
Project region: Western Ukraine (regions of Lviv, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattia)
Project volume: € 30,000 & € 45,000
Project financing: Fons Català de cooperació al desenvolupament
Project duration: Full term 20/04 - 21/10/2022, 6 months, (20/04-20/07 & 21/07-21/10)

Find out more about the project here.

ASB continues to provide emergency relief to those affected by the war

Women, children and elderly people in particular are fleeing the conflict zones and seeking refuge in other parts of Ukraine or in neighbouring European countries. As an aid and welfare organisation, the Arbeiter Samariter Bund (ASB) is helping people in Ukraine, in neighbouring countries and in Germany. We work closely with the ASB country offices in Kyiv and Lviv, the Ukrainian Samaritan Association (SSU), and ASB and Samaritan organisations in Georgia and Poland, and can build on our many years of involvement in the region.

The ongoing war continues to increase humanitarian needs across the country, with the south and east particularly affected. 13.7 million Ukrainians have fled their homes since February. 6.4 million have now returned to Ukraine. In addition, more than 7 million people have fled within Ukraine.

Despite the dramatic situation in Ukraine, ASB country office staff and our local partners have provided humanitarian assistance to more people than ever before in 2022 and 2023. Examples include the distribution of non-food items and multi-purpose cash, the renovation or construction of accessible shelters, psychosocial support for traumatised people, and the renovation and equipping of health facilities.

ASB delegation visits aid projects in Kiev in May 2023

ASB President Katarina Barley and ASB Federal Chairman Knut Fleckenstein visited the Ukrainian capital in May together with Ivo Bonamico, Secretary General of Samaritan International. They were briefed on the status of ASB's current aid projects and spoke with Mayor Vitali Klitschko about their cooperation in the social sector.

Emergency relief in Ukraine

ASB worked with its Ukrainian partner, the Ukrainian Education Platform (UEP), to provide hygiene kits to 9,000 households in areas particularly affected by the war. This allowed us to help people who had difficulty accessing food or hygiene products due to missile attacks.

The staff of ASB's country office in Ukraine and our local partners have also been directly affected. The ASB office in Severodonetsk, in the area of eastern Ukraine currently occupied by Russia, was closed. The staff and families who lived and worked there were evacuated and have since continued their work from Lviv in western Ukraine. Despite the loss of homes and livelihoods, worries about loved ones, constant rocket attacks, power cuts and many other challenges, ASB helped more people than ever before in 2023. A wide range of humanitarian aid reached families across Ukraine and Russian-occupied territories. This included the distribution of 131,165 food parcels and 21,577 people received cash for various purposes.

ASB also cooperated with local partners to distribute hygiene kits and drinking water, provide winter relief and support vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, large families and the elderly. In cooperation with our long-standing partner SSU (Samaritan Organisation of Ukraine), activities included the distribution of relief supplies, the renovation of a shelter in a Kiev hospital, to make it accessible, and psychosocial support for traumatised Ukrainians, especially people with disabilities and children.

In collaboration with the Ukrainian Samaritan organisation SSU, the first "warming point" was opened in Kiev in February 2023.
In 2023, 2,072 households will receive cash assistance. Beneficiaries will be able to use the cash to buy warm blankets and clothes, and to pay for rising heating costs.
Liudmyla Mykolaivna, 40, and her family received cash assistance from ASB. "ASB's help is very important for us. We really need winter clothes to get through the cold season," says Liudmyla gratefully.
Liudmyla Mykolaivna's family received support from ASB as part of its winter relief programme. Together with her mother and three children, she had to leave her home town of Mykolaiv and now lives in Lvivska Oblast.
ASB distributed 200 hygiene articles to elderly people, pregnant women and people with disabilities at a community centre in Truskavets in western Ukraine.
In 2023, ASB distributed a total of 42,903 hygiene kits in Ukraine.
Together with other partner organisations, ASB helped the Ukrainian Samaritan Association (SSU) to renovate an air-raid shelter at a children's hospital in Kiev. With the help of ASB, the old sanitary facilities were replaced, the water and sewage systems were renewed and the ventilation system was renovated. A children's playroom was also set up in the bunker.
Staff from the Ukrainian Samaritan Association (SSU) distributed food and hygiene kits to families with babies and young children in Kiev and Kremenchuk.
In collaboration with the Ukrainian Samaritan organisation SSU, the first "warming point" was opened in Kiev in February 2023.

Overview map of aid measures in Ukraine

In 2023, ASB provided cash assistance to 21,577 people in Ukraine to meet their basic needs. 1,382 households received money from ASB to cover their rent. ASB provided cash assistance to 2,072 households as part of its winter relief programme. Ukrainians can use the money to buy warm blankets or pay their heating bills. ASB also distributed 131,165 food parcels and 42,903 hygiene kits. 1,533 people received psychosocial support from ASB in 2023. The emergency response will continue in 2024. The map shows the areas where ASB is currently active.

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