This comes from a connection Marta Huretska, National Board Member of YMCA Ukraine, has had with Unlocking Communities since its founding.
Together, they have impacted over 100,000 lives to date with water filters and other essentials requested by the YMCA of Ukraine. The value of these items donated has totaled over $1,000,000 worth of requested items. The fourth shipment of items (69 pallets over 17,000 kgs total) will arrive in Ukraine soon, valuing another $1,000,000, and will impact an additional 68,750 lives.
This project is designed to distribute desperately needed goods to the people of Ukraine requested by a survey of local YMCAs and partner organizations. This project is the final step in a year-long project of shipments that have been distributed to nearly every region of the country impacting over 168,000 people.
Enabling access to essential resources
- Increased access to clean water
- Increased access to warm weather gear
- Increased access to medical supplies
- Increased access to lighting
Activities
- Distribution of individual water filtration systems
- Distribution of medical supplies (masks, gowns, hand sanitizer)
- Distribution of sleeping bags and coats
- Distribution of flashlights
The development and implementation of the project could not have been possible without the efforts and determination of Volyn YMCA in Lutsk.
The team of volunteer and youth workers have done a remarkable community service – with special consideration for Stas – Stanislav Krymchuk – one of their most dedicated volunteers assisting with sorting, packing, sending, and delivering the goods to the most vulnerable communities affected by the ongoing war.
Stanislav himself went many times to the villages of Kharkiv and Kherson region to distribute the filters and other humanitarian products, facing air raids, constant curfews, and bombing.
Additionally this would not have been done without the support of our partners like LifeStraw who generously donated filters and other supplies.
Unlocking Communities (UC) equips entrepreneurs with the education and tools to sell sustainable products that unlock economic, social, and environmental transformation. By building community resilience and equitable access to key tools and resources, including water filtration systems, clean-burning cookstoves, entrepreneurship training, and microfinancing, UC will impact 4 million people by 2025 and generate $350 million in economic savings for very low to middle-income households. Successfully piloted in Haiti, numerous organizations worldwide have requested to implement the UC model; and, utilizing a franchising approach, UC is partnering with local organizations to replicate and adapt the model globally. Finally, Unlocking Communities respond to disasters whenever the opportunity and network allow.
More pictures available below
