Its now been almost 12 months since the conflict in Ukraine escalated.
Millions of people have been displaced and have no place to call home. Each person represents a family member who has lost their home and are separated from loved ones. Home, community, and hope has been shattered – the very foundation of the mission Habitat for Humanity is about.
With nearly 8 million refugees seeking shelter in neighbouring countries and beyond, and more than 6.5 million people estimated to be internally displaced in Ukraine, the work that lies ahead of organizations such as Habitat for Humanity is immense. Thanks to donations, Habitat was on the ground in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia since day one, accompanying refugees on the move and in their search for mid- and long-term accommodation, by supporting housing arrangements with host families, refurbishing and furnishing communal spaces, repurposing empty spaces, subsidizing rentals and running social rental programs.
As the situation in Ukraine continues to deteriorate, most of the population must shelter from harsh winter temperatures in damaged buildings, with limited or no access to gas, electricity and water. Through partnerships on the ground in Ukraine, Habitat supports direct repairs and winterization upgrades for particularly vulnerable families as well as repairs of small-scale community-level infrastructures, like kindergartens or community centres, in the Kharkiv and Kiev Oblasts. We are also supporting the energy-efficient modernization of multi-apartment buildings in Odessa, which will improve the heating systems in the buildings, reduce energy consumption by 20-30% and contribute towards creating a safe and warm basement for sheltering during air raids.
Thank you for your support, your donations will help us to continue to respond to the urgent and long-term needs of an ever-growing number of refugees.