• We started with the workshops of the entrepreneurship program, which was opened by President Kersti Kaljulaid. Already two workshops have taken place, both workshops are available on Facebook: the July 2nd workshop and the July 9th workshop. You can find more information about the program on Estonian Refugee Council's business platform.

Humanitarian aid in Ukraine

What we are doing? ​

• Implementing multi-purpose cash assistance so people can decide themselves what they need the most. As of now, we have supported 41 932 households (about 126 000 people). In total, we have mediated over 18,8 million euros cash based support (Estonian donors + WFP + OCHA + IRC). The assistance amount is 2220 UAH (= about 70 EUR) per household member per month.
• We opened a separate application platform for multi-purpose cash assistance in Ukraine: https://register.pagulasabi.ee/
• Our on-site call center in Ukraine serves approximately 50 000 calls and 1500 people per day, advising and sharing information on support options, pre-selecting our own multi-purpose cash assistance beneficiaries and referring people to other programmes as needed.
• Supporting hospitals in Eastern Ukraine with medical supplies, food and other necessities (e.g. generators).
• Handed out 900 blankets, 4600 sleeping bags and other essentials to the people in bomb shelters and IDP accommodations. In July, we will receive and distribute another 2,000 blankets.
• We are part of the Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI), under which we help the humanitarian sector maintain a consistent overview of how and where in Ukraine markets are operating, whether and how fast basic necessities prices are rising, and so on. Our area of responsibility are the Zaporizhia and Kharkiv oblasts. Read the latest raport here. 
• In cooperation with the local volunteer group Kyiv Volunteers, we will carry out a food distribution program in the liberated areas of the Kiev oblasts, where the markets are not yet functioning well. One food package that meets international standards lasts for two weeks. In the end of June, 250 food parcels were distributed in the settlement of Nemishaieve.

In addition to the support of Estonian donors, we also carry out cash-based assistance with international partners:

• With the World Food Programme (WFP) we support 60 500 people in the Kiev, Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv oblasts with multi-purpose cash assistance.
• With the funding from the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) we will within three months provide cash-based assistance in total to 12 000 people in the Zaporizhia and Donetsk oblasts.
• With the funding of  International Rescue Committee (IRC) 21 000 people in Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Kiev, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions will receive 3-month cash support.

Supporting Ukrainian refugees in Estonia

What we are doing?​

• The Estonian Refugee Council’s counselling center in Tallinn (Liivalaia 28) continues to counsel both refugees and their loved ones from Tuesday to Thursday (Tuesday from 12-19, Wednesday-Thursday from 10-17). An information hotline is open for Ukrainian refugees and people helping them: +372 5881 1311 (workdays from 10 am to 5 pm); also e-mail: dopomoha@pagulasabi.ee.
• The most important information for refugees can be found in the Frequently Asked Questions section of our website: https://www.pagulasabi.ee/en/general
• We mediate accomondation offers from our database. Of all the offers, we have already mediated 930 households. Upload your accommodations to special Kinnisvara24 portal. 
• We have started various group counselling’s for Ukrainians on four different topics: adaptation, labour market, digital skills and children's adaptation. Already 50 digital skills, 56 adaptation and 19 child's adaptation workshops have taken place around Estonia (check the map below) and over 800 Ukrainian refugees have participated. One work-related group counseling has also taken place in Tallinn, which we will continue in July.

The counties where we organize group counseling are marked with pink on the map. 

• We offer support groups led by psychotherapists. To register for the group, call the Tallinn Psychological Crisis Center on 631 4300 (Mon-Fri 9-19, Sat 10-15). 
• We are paying school support to all refugee children going to school in Estonia. Currently 1675 applications have been received and support has been paid based on 1592 applications to 2118 children, in total amount of 105 900 euros. The remaining applications are being checked and verified.
• A city camp for children aged 13-19 started today in Tallinn. We are organizing four overnight camps for children aged 7-18. These will take place in July and August. We accept up to 150 children with refugee backgrounds in the camps.

Donations and use of donations

• Over 5,38 million euros has accumulated in donations for the Refugee Council, including targeted donations made for organizing evacuations and donations for activities in Estonia. Within May, 2,6 million euros has already been spent on giving humanitarian aid in Ukraine and 555 000 euros on evacuations. We have paid out school supports over 100 000 euros. 
• At the Sirel & Partners Golf Open golf competition, 11,400 euros were collected for the support of Ukraine with the help of the participants.
• You can now also donate gold to charity until the end of July. Read more and donate here.
• Donations for the Estonian the Refugee Council can be made on our donation page and For Ukraine campaign page.

All our financial reports are audited annually. If you want more detailed information, please send an inquiry to info@pagulasabi.ee.

In addition

• ​More about school support
• More about group counselling
• How the money from Estonian donors helps to save lives in Ukraine
• Eero Janson: People in Ukraine need money, not things
• How we organized evacuations for over a month
• Story about Estonian woman who opened her home to refugees
• More about the cooperation with the World Food Programme (WFP)
• Anu Viltrop: not every helper is a supporter and not every supporter is a friend

Estonian Refugee Council is a non-profit association founded in 2000 and operating in the public interest, with the aim of standing up for the rights and well-being of refugees in Estonia and abroad. Estonian Refugee Council is a humanitarian aid organization certified by the European Union. In Eastern Ukraine, Refugee Council has been providing humanitarian aid since 2014.

Foto: Hlib Stoiko, distribution of food parcels in the villages of the previously occupied Kiev oblasts