Ukraine crisis reponse: 6-month report

Over the past six months, Habitat for Humanity has been able to support many refugees from Ukraine – this would not have been possible without your support. Therefore this update and video on the activities that have taken place in the months after the start of the war. Habitat is currently starting up activities in Ukraine itself, where nearly 7 million people remain displaced by the war and where there is an estimated 36.8 billion US dollar worth of damage to the housing sector nationally. Habitat will be starting work in Ukraine and we will thus continue our fundraising efforts to support this work.

6 months after the beginning of the war: an update
Please find here an overview of Habitats efforts in Poland, Hungary and Romania, including some personal stories of families that received support. Through the different Habitat programs, so far more than 10,000 people have received shelter services at the border (such as emergency travel kits and public transport vouchers), over 4,500 people have been supported with free short-term accommodation. On the medium-term, more than 1,200 people have benefited from midterm accommodation in existing apartments or refurbished vacant spaces. As added support, Habitat Poland collects furniture, mattresses and other donated goods from various sources, and supplies them to families supported by Habitat. As of August, Habitat provided more than 14,000 refugees with these household items.

Currently, Habitat continues to support refugees affected by the war and is working to provide housing solutions for the long term, for example by developing rental support programs. Additionally, winter is approaching. With harsh temperatures expected, this comes with new challenges that have to be addressed. How this is being approached, can for example be seen in this video in which Roberto Patrascoiu, national director of Habitat Romania, shows one of the buildings that is currently prepared for winter >>.

Habitat in Ukraine
Winterization is also one of the key parts of Habitats new program in Ukraine, which is expected to start next month and will be implemented in close collaboration with partners that already have presence and experience in Ukraine. Habitats activities will include the support of communities in getting ready for the winter, as currently an estimated 1.7 million people live in damaged homes or buildings that do not provide sufficient protection against the cold winter temperatures. The program will particularly prioritize people residing in remote and rural areas where there are more substandard homes and materials, and skills shortages are complicating families’ efforts to repair their own homes. In strong collaboration with local partners, Habitat will provide support through three main activities: (1) direct home reparations and winterization upgrades, (2) shelter winterization kits (which include for example weather stripping, insulating foam spray, sheets for temporary covering of roofs and walls and plastic sheets for temporary double glazing of windows), and (3) capacity building of local partners, by providing construction technical expertise.

We want to thank you all for the generous support Habitat has received from The HEINEKEN company and so many employees.