With Millions Displaced, Who’s Helping Ukraine’s Refugees?

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There was an initial rush to help the people of Ukraine when the war broke out, with a decided emphasis on immediate humanitarian aid. Now, two months in, more than 5 million citizens have fled the country, creating the fastest-growing refugee displacement since World War II, and changing the paradigm of what kind of support is needed.

Since able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 60 are required to stay and fight, an estimated 95% of the displaced are women, children and the elderly. Many are staying in countries close to home, like Poland, in hopes that the conflict will be short-lived. Others are finding longer-term solutions in countries like the U.S., which recently committed to taking 100,000 refugees. 

Here, we take a look at how philanthropy’s helping them land, with a focus on the most vulnerable, such as children who left behind classrooms, women who ran from danger before gathering identifying documentation, families without roofs over their heads, and elderly members of the Jewish community who lived through the Holocaust.

Jewish community

The Jewish community rose swiftly to protect vulnerable Jews in Ukraine. Jewish Federations of North America alone recently announced that its emergency fundraising campaign for aid to Ukraine passed the $50 million mark. An umbrella organization, it represents more than 146 Jewish Federations and 300 communities, which collectively raise and distribute more than $3 billion annually.

One partner, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), has supported more than 35,000 refugees to date, and evacuated nearly 12,500 people to other countries. Thanks to anchor support from JFNA and the federations, it also reports raising $50 million since the war began. The organization draws revenue mostly from grants and contributions, totaling over $400 million in 2020.

Pini Miretski, head of the evacuation team, described movement last week as “very tense,” and nearly exclusively from “hot” places in the East. Once the team evacuates refugees from cities under fire, it organizes days-long caravans to safety. As they cross into Romania, Moldova, Poland and Hungary, JDC often remains their first line of support, providing food, medical care and housing, as well as connections to the local Jewish community. Operations on the ground keep shifting, he said. “The situation is very dynamic. People from Kyiv need less help, people from the East need more.” 

The century-old humanitarian organization has operated in the Ukraine for more than 30 years, laying down roots that have become critical. Since the fall of the former Soviet Union, it’s built a network that includes 18 Hesed social service centers, Jewish Family Services and six flagship community centers. JDC is serving nearly 40,000 poor Jewish families and elderly in the country, including 9,900 Holocaust survivors.

Miretski said the infrastructure and innovations it instituted during the pandemic established sustainable ways of keeping its community connected, a sentiment echoed by other philanthropies that work there, like the C.S. Mott Foundation.

JDC now sees COVID as a “practice run” for crisis response. For instance, the remote care and socialization platforms it created to help the elderly shelter in place during lockdowns continue to keep them safe and informed. It issued phones specifically adapted for elderly users, then trained staff to understand both the new systems and the special needs of a cohort that didn’t grow up with tech. 

JDC also established emergency hotlines during COVID that have morphed into refugee hotlines operated by local community partners in Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

The special evacuations of Holocaust survivors are carried out in partnership with the Claims Conference, a nonprofit that supports the material claims of survivors around the world. They number in the “high dozens” so far, with 75 rescued to date. 

Miretski said survivors represent the frailest members of its community — over 80 and often either bedridden or homebound. Leaving is also emotionally fraught. Survivors’ homes are “the basis of their security,” he said, the “one certain thing” in their lives. 

Evacuations are eased by a deep level of trust built over time. “They come to us because they know us,” he said, explaining that since many are single and don’t have local relatives, JDC acts “in many ways like family.” JDC home care workers are often primary caretakers. “The first step,” Miretski said, “is to help them conclude they want to leave” as a matter of safety. But “we are there no matter what they decide.” 

Once survivors make the difficult decision to leave, JDC stays with them each step of the way until they’re safely delivered to receiving facilities in places like Poland and Germany.

The IRC engages 

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has been working on behalf of refugees since its founding as Hitler gained power in 1933, at the behest of German-born physicist Albert Einstein. With revenues of over $825 million in 2020, mostly from grants, contributions and contracts, IRC operates in more than 40 countries and follows a continuum of service that includes a 72-hour response in emergency situations. 

The organization launched an immediate emergency response to the war in Ukraine in February, and began working with partners in Poland. After assessing needs, it’s continued to build new local partnerships and to scale services both inside and outside Ukraine.

IRC is paying special attention to the women and children it says are bearing the brunt of the crisis. That includes the nuts and bolts work of supporting women who pulled up stakes before they were able to collect identification documents like passports and birth certificates. Without them, they are stateless and at real risk of sexual exploitation and gender-based violence. 

Nora Love, team lead for the International Rescue Committee in Ukraine, recently called on “all warring parties to adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and safe provision of humanitarian access.”

Through its partners, the IRC is providing evacuation services to refugees and delivering essentials like blankets and cash. In Poland, an existing hotline helps Ukrainians connect to legal counsel and trauma support. In hot spots, it provides access to critical services through a supporting team of social workers and interpreters.

As for fundraising, the IRC has seen “an outpouring of support and solidarity from people all over the world.” Partners and supporters that have stepped up include Uber, Johnson and Johnson, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Levi Strauss Foundation. It’s committed to scaling funding to meet rising needs. 

Coming or going

Ukrainian refugees face a special kind of limbo once they leave the country, wrestling with next steps during a war that could last several more months or even years. Without the husbands and fathers that stayed behind, navigating the future as a family unit is difficult, and some parts of the country are proving safer than others. As a result, some have weighed the risks and returned home. Others are heeding the advice of President Volodymyr Zelensky and staying in place for safety’s sake. 

The situation has triggered a critical need for short-term stays, especially in places with some semblance of home, like kitchens and common areas.

Airbnb.org, the philanthropic arm of the homestay company, has been helping the displaced find shelter since 2017, following the U.S. Muslim travel ban. Since then, it’s provided short-term stays for more than 55,000 people in places like Syria, Venezuela and Afghanistan, working with partners like the IRC. 

The organization’s found places for 24,000 Ukrainian refugees in Europe, toward a pledge of 100,000. Thirty-three thousand hosts have already signed on. After “listening to feedback,” Executive Director Katherine Woo said the typical length of stay was increased from 14 to 30 days. 

Airbnb.org is also coordinating directly with the federal government to support the U.S. commitment to welcoming up to 100,000 refugees, building on recent work with the Biden administration on Afghan resettlement. Woo said methods are still “being ironed out.” 

The organization contributes tech services for listing searches, waives all service fees, and provides grant funding to NGOs that identify clients and fund stays. All partners must unequivocally share the commitment against bias that Airbnb requires from all members of its community, from hosts to employees. Funding follows that edict. In Ukraine, Airbnb.org specifically assists vulnerable refugee populations like those who identify as LGBTQIA+.

Partners include EURORDIS — Rare Diseases Europe, a nonprofit alliance of 995 global organizations that supports people living with a range of 6,000 chronic rare diseases. Work with Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) in Hungary centers on housing African students fleeing Ukraine. And Planting Peace, a global nonprofit that’s currently operating at the border of Poland and Ukraine, is applying its long and deep experience working with orphanages to help those without family to turn to for help.

Katherine Woo said small-dollar fundraising results have been strong. More than 80,000 individuals across 95 countries have contributed a total of $7.7 million.

Airbnb.org also got a big boost from a $1.5 million match made by Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher. And the Utah Jazz Foundation raised enough funding from its community to provide 32,200 nights of temporary housing for Ukrainian refugees. 

Inspired by that, Airbnb’s co-founders — Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, Nathan Blecharczyk and his wife Elizabeth — committed to matching up to $10 million in donations to Airbnb.org through April.

A focus on children

Darla Silva, chief global program officer of UNICEF USA, had just returned from visiting an emergency center in Brasov, Romania, when she spoke to IP. 

“What’s unique about this crisis,” she said, “is the pace of displacement.” During her time there, she had the chance to see and talk to staff who’ve been in Ukraine “a very long time.” They told her they’ve never seen a refugee crisis grow so quickly — with staggering consequences for children.

Silva said 2 million children have been forced to flee the country. Another 2.8 million have been displaced internally. That means two-thirds of Ukraine’s children have already become refugees in nine short weeks. 

UNICEF focuses on providing “protection, education, safety and support” for children, raising over $7.5 billion in revenue in 2020 from a mix of public- and private-sector sources. It has been working in Ukraine for 25 years, protecting children’s rights and potential from early childhood through adolescence. 

Current work includes a cash transfer program that builds on a government program for families with young children. On health, it’s been working to address Ukraine’s lower vaccination rates for COVID and preventable childhood diseases like measles, following a polio outbreak before the war.

Silva was visiting a “Blue Dot” center, a 24-hour emergency response stop for refugees traveling through Poland, Moldova and Romania to other places within Europe. Centers are typically set up along transit roads, though the one she visited is situated in the city center. The organization currently operates 11 Blue Dot Centers, with plans for 37 more. 

Silva said the centers give UNICEF a chance to screen the most vulnerable kids, like unaccompanied children, special needs kids and children in non-parent groups. Other children arrive from residential care situations like group homes or foster families. They often come collectively, and are moved as a group. UNICEF also supports children arriving from state-sponsored situations, like child protective services. 

Silva said most of the older children, ages eight or nine through high school age, attend classes virtually using structures put in place during COVID, which “turned out to be a blessing” despite the drawbacks of remote learning. Younger children gravitate to safe spaces within the centers that organize play supporting early childhood development. Structuring their time also allows parents to access other supports and plan for the future.

Silva said a specific appeal for $949 million has brought in $439 million to date for Ukraine and neighboring countries. The private-sector response has also been robust, especially from corporations. Apple made it possible to donate to UNICEF through its website and App Store, and the organization was one of five beneficiaries of Fortnite’s proceeds between March 20 and April 3, totaling $144 million.

Now that refugees have moved through the whens and hows of leaving Ukraine, Silva said they face “really difficult decisions” regarding “then what?” 

“Everybody I spoke to,” she said, “wanted to go home as soon as it was safe.”