23,000 IDPs from east to get aid

KYIV – Caritas Ukraine has started a new humanitarian program to cover the basic needs of those affected by fighting in eastern Ukraine. Andriy Vaskovych, president of Caritas Ukraine, announced the news at a briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center on March 3. Mr. Vaskovych said the aid would be delivered to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) who moved to Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kramatorsk, Odesa and Kyiv. The charity also plans to create a mobile group to help people living in the combat zone. “The government of Germany has provided financial assistance worth 2 million euro, which enables us to help nearly 23,000 people. These funds include financial resources to such basic needs as the costs of accommodation, food, clothes, medical assistance, as well as psychological and legal assistance,” Mr. Vaskovych noted. Hryhoriy Seleshchuk, project coordinator at Caritas Ukraine, explained that the project is going to focus on 9,000 people who have just left the embattled territories and arrived with almost nothing. “The amount of aid depends on the number of family members. A family of three is entitled to a one-time payment in the amount of 2,400 hrv on average,” said Mr. Seleshchuk. He also noted that the aid will be distributed among socially vulnerable groups, including families with many children, the disabled, the elderly, pregnant women, etc. Special food sets will be delivered to these groups as well. “The value of a single kit is around 800 hrv, which includes a wide range of products,” he noted. Caritas Ukraine started helping the IDPs in May 2014, covering nine regions. The foundation has helped over 50,000 of those affected by the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, many of them children. Nearly 60-80 percent of them have witnessed violence and need long-term psychological rehabilitation. (Ukraine Crisis Media Center)