Children on the Edge
  • DONATE
    • The Big Give 2022
  • COUNTRIES
    • Country Overview
    • BANGLADESH >
      • Kutupalong
      • Cox's Bazar & Doharazi
    • INDIA
    • LEBANON
    • MYANMAR
    • UGANDA >
      • Jinja
      • Kyaka II
    • UKRAINE
  • ABOUT US
    • WHO WE ARE
    • Contact Us
    • 2022 Highlights
    • Annual Report
    • Awards
    • Meet the team
    • Our Story
    • Our Values
    • Our Partners
  • OUR WORK
    • OUR WORK Overview
    • Working on 'the Edge'
    • Safe Spaces
    • Child Rights
    • Refugee Education
    • Early Childhood Development
    • Cluster Learning In Uganda
    • Supporting Slum Communities
    • Tackling Caste Discrimination
    • Ending Child Sacrifice
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Get Our Email Updates
    • Autumn Raffle
    • Fundraise For Us
    • Challenge Events >
      • Virtual Challenge
      • Run The London Marathon
    • Schools
    • Trusts & Foundations
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • The Body Shop at Home
    • Volunteer
    • Shop
  • LATEST STORIES
Picture

LATEST STORIES

Click to donate

The Best Way to Help Ukrainian refugees - Cash or Stuff?

7/3/2022

 
Two Ukrainian refugees hugging in front of a queue of refugees
Ukrainian refugees on border - Photo by Fotoreserg
The crisis in Ukraine has shocked the world, and as with other conflicts and crises, people are desperate to help. But what is the best way to support the people affected and respond to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Europe?
Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, people in the UK have been quick to respond. There have been countless organised collections for donated goods and supplies, requesting batteries, torches, first aid kids, sanitary products and other essential items to help those fleeing across the borders from Ukraine.

These collections and requests have come from individuals, small local groups, diaspora communities as well as registered charities. The items, collected in the UK, are usually destined for Europe, being driven to Ukraine, or countries on its border, to be distributed to civilians, refugees and organisations locally who are working to support them.

While these donations are incredibly well-meaning, they’re not usually the best way to help. Here’s why.......
​


Often, the items collected are not what is actually needed. Unsolicited donations can obstruct supply chains and delay more urgent life-saving assistance from getting through to those who need it most. They also take days to sort and organise both within the UK, and more importantly, at their final destination, where people are already overwhelmed. In some cases many items are damaged, broken or unsuitable, which then need to be disposed of or taken to be recycled or reused elsewhere. The time and effort spent in organising mountains of ‘stuff’ is usually best placed elsewhere. In a rapidly changing, volatile situation, even a list of items that have been locally requested could be obsolete by the time they are collected and transported so far.  

The ecological impact of physically transporting a high volume of donated items hundreds or thousands of miles is significant, and the carbon footprint much higher than buying items in the country they are needed. These journeys also pose logical and administrative challenges, moving goods across borders, especially from the UK into the EU post Brexit is not always straightforward, as many have reported over recent days.

Buying new items in the UK to send abroad isn’t economical. The cost of transporting or sending things overseas is far more expensive than a local purchase in the country where it’s headed; whose economy could benefit from purchases made locally. 

Local goods usually offer a cheaper recognisable product for individuals too. For refugees, who may have suffered traumatic journeys or unimaginable circumstances back home, familiar products offer some semblance of normality or comfort, compared to items that are unrecognisable, or with branding or instructions in another language for example.

In Romania, where we are working with local partners to support refugees, we are seeing that plenty of d
onations of food, blankets, nappies and other essential items are being generously provided by local people or businesses. The centres have more ‘stuff’ than they can use at present.
Picture
Picture

Stocks of donations sourced locally at a transit centre for refugees in Iasi, Romania

SO WHAT CAN PEOPLE DO TO HELP?

People are far better off donating to a trusted organisation, so funds can be directed to those working on the ground, to charities and organisations who have experience of working in conflict zones, with refugees. Donations enable charities and organisations to buy what’s needed locally, and in the process support local economies, who can struggle to accommodate the large influx of refugees. The UK government has issued some advice on how you can best support Ukrainian refugees.

Children on the Edge co-founder and CEO Rachel Bentley said:


“What we need is money, it’s as simple as that. Refugees are arriving in Romania and Moldova hungry and tired, some have been walking for days, and many are very traumatised. We are working with partners on the ground that we have known for many years, who have staff with the skills necessary to support refugees. Local people can provide food and clothes but there are things like fuel bills that need to be paid so people can live in warm environments and take warm showers”.

Children on the Edge are currently appealing for cash donations to support our Ukraine Appeal. Money helps us to respond quickly. We have over two decades of experience working in Eastern Europe, and are working through our trusted contacts and organisations on the ground in Romania and Moldova to support Ukrainian refugees. 
DONATE TO OUR APPEAL

WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO HELP SO FAR? 

Thanks to the amazing response from our supporters, a few days after the conflict began, we were able to transfer funds to our partner organisation in Moldova who had already begun hosting refugees at their centre. They have 22 beds for families to stay as they transit through Moldova, on their way into the EU or to catch up with family members. Whilst local people are helping with food and clothes, our partners needed cash to help pay for rising utility bills. 

The centre's electricity use has gone up, as it’s now being used 24/7. The heating has been on more frequently to keep refugees warm overnight. There are now additional costs associated with cleaning the centre and washing and drying bedding ready for the next batch of new arrivals. These are the kind of costs that often get forgotten about when responding to a humanitarian crisis and people are focused on the need for ‘stuff’, but support with these costs is vital to enable local organisations to respond and offer meaningful assistance to refugees. Any items they need can also be funded with cash and sourced locally. 

In Siret, Romania our partners have set up a 100 bed facility for arriving refugees and are already in the process of arranging further accommodation for Ukrainian families further inland. Donations will enable this work to continue and expand to support more refugees.
Collage of three pictures showing the front of the 'Speranta ' centre in Moldova, a colourful building, painted yellow, blue and red on the outside. Other images show rooms prepared with beds and chairs and tables for refugees.
The Speranta Centre in Moldova is hosting refugees

GLOBAL REFUGEE CRISIS


The UN expects up to 4 million refugees from Ukraine, with an additional 7 million people displaced internally. Sadly, they join the 82.4 million people globally who are forcibly displaced. 

Right now, Children on the Edge provides education in a safe space for over 13,000 refugee children who have fled persecution, conflict or violence. We currently provide education for children in the world's largest refugee camp ​in Bangladesh, the largest refugee crisis in Lebanon, the most forgotten war in Kachin State Myanmar, and one of the world’s fastest growing refugee situations in Uganda.

The average length of time a refugee spends in exile is over a decade, with incalculable impacts on their wellbeing, education and economic inclusion.

Supporting charities like Children on the Edge, who work with refugee communities around the world, on a long term basis is the best way to support refugees. 
​
READ MORE ABOUT HOW WE SPEND YOUR MONEY
Three young Rohingya children in Bangladesh drawing and writing together on a table with colouring pencils
Classrooms in Kutupalong for Rohingya refugees
Two young Congolese refugees holding up numbers drawn on colourful card. They are sat outside on a mat in their refugee camp, learning together in cluster groups
Congolose refugee children in Uganda learning outside in 'Cluster Groups'
read more about our work with refugees

Support us

  • Give monthly Give monthly
  • Fundraise for us Fundraise for us
  • Receive our emails Receive our emails


Comments are closed.
    Picture

    RECEIVE OUR EMAILS

    Blog Categories

    All
    Ambassadors
    Bangladesh
    Burma/Myanmar
    Chichester
    Child Participation
    Child Protection Team
    Child Rights
    Child Sacrifice
    Coronavirus
    Dalit
    Digital Education
    Early Childhood Development
    Education Loans
    Fundraising
    General
    #GetToKnowUs
    History
    Hope
    Humanitarian Relief
    India
    Kachin
    Kyaka II Uganda
    Lebanon
    Postcode Lottery
    Protective Environments
    Refugees
    Rohingya
    Schools
    Storytellers
    The Body Shop At Home
    #ThrowbackThursday
    Uganda
    UK
    Ukraine
    Volunteer
    Women's Rights

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011



    RSS Feed

JOIN US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Click to donate

Get Involved

Corporate Partnerships
​
​Email updates
Fundraise 
Give Monthly
Grant Giving Organisations
​The Body Shop At Home
Volunteer

aBOUT US

Who We Are
​​​How  We Spend Your Money
Latest Stories
​Our Story
​​Our Work
Accessibility  | Annual Report  | Contact Us | Jobs | Media Centre | ​Privacy Policy | Resources | ​Safeguarding | Shop | ​Strategic Partners 
For raffle ticket holders | Take Part | Rules and Prizes | Complaints | Responsible Gambling ​
Logo which says 'Registered with Fundraising Regulator'

Registered charity no. 1101441
REGISTERED COMPANY No. 4996130 

​Children on the Edge, 5 The Victoria, 25 St Pancras, Chichester,  West Sussex, PO19 7LT, UK | 01243 538530 | communications@childrenontheedge.org 
  • DONATE
    • The Big Give 2022
  • COUNTRIES
    • Country Overview
    • BANGLADESH >
      • Kutupalong
      • Cox's Bazar & Doharazi
    • INDIA
    • LEBANON
    • MYANMAR
    • UGANDA >
      • Jinja
      • Kyaka II
    • UKRAINE
  • ABOUT US
    • WHO WE ARE
    • Contact Us
    • 2022 Highlights
    • Annual Report
    • Awards
    • Meet the team
    • Our Story
    • Our Values
    • Our Partners
  • OUR WORK
    • OUR WORK Overview
    • Working on 'the Edge'
    • Safe Spaces
    • Child Rights
    • Refugee Education
    • Early Childhood Development
    • Cluster Learning In Uganda
    • Supporting Slum Communities
    • Tackling Caste Discrimination
    • Ending Child Sacrifice
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Get Our Email Updates
    • Autumn Raffle
    • Fundraise For Us
    • Challenge Events >
      • Virtual Challenge
      • Run The London Marathon
    • Schools
    • Trusts & Foundations
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • The Body Shop at Home
    • Volunteer
    • Shop
  • LATEST STORIES