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News We continue to stand with Depaul and Ukraine

We continue to stand with Depaul and Ukraine

We’ve recently awarded a further £100,000 to Depaul International to support their incredible humanitarian aid facing the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

Over a year has passed since the conflict in Ukraine escalated, but the need for support hasn’t lessened and Depaul International is one of the charities continuing to meet the needs of people suffering from the psychological trauma of 12 months of war, helping them to rebuild their lives. Over the course of the year, the team in Ukraine has grown from supporting 8,500 people a year, to providing a lifeline to more than 30,000 people a day. 

In March 2022, Benefact Trust pledged £1 million to charities helping those affected by the conflict in Ukraine. In the first round of funding Depaul International was awarded £50,000 and this was shortly followed by a second donation of £100,000 once we had seen the huge impact they were making in Ukraine and the surrounding areas.

Together with other donations, here are just a few ways our funding to Depaul International has made a difference over the past year:

  • Delivering food to recently liberated areas where the needs are immense. 

  • Purchasing essential items for families who have lost everything. 

  • Providing generators that bring heat, light and the ability to connect with loved ones. 

  • Repairing homes to keep people alive and prevent homelessness. 

  • Hiring staff to support extremely vulnerable families in hostel accommodation.

  • Helping children remember how to play and laugh.

  • Delivering counselling for people deeply traumatised by war.

While Depaul’s initial response was extraordinary, funding and support has slowed down as the year has gone on. With the war still raging, meeting people’s most basic human needs will continue to be a priority for Depaul, but the charity also wants to help people begin to recover and rebuild their lives – something they can’t do without support.

That’s why we’ve just awarded Depaul International an additional £100,000 towards their vital work. Many aid agencies have had to leave the frontline due to understandable safety concerns, but Depaul has remained, dedicated to supporting families who need their help. Families such as Iris…

“My name is Iris. Before the war I went to work and raised my two children. On weekends we went for walks in the park. I loved to walk in the park with the children. Now this is impossible because it is too dangerous.
“I know that my house is still intact, but the neighbouring houses were hit. This is one of the reasons why we remain in the bomb shelter. My eldest son shut down. He retreated within himself and became withdrawn, stopped speaking, stopped eating and stopped sleeping. When the volunteers arrived, they offered psychological help.
“Before, because of fear, they couldn’t sleep, and there was no way to solve this. It was impossible to endure and impossible to breathe. Now, thanks to these shelters, my children can sleep. When we received psychological help from Depaul I was so pleased because it was so important and so needed. You can fix your tooth but how can you heal your soul?
“The people that help us here are heroes, they haven’t abandoned us, not even once.”

Find out more about Depaul’s one year on appeal: https://int.depaulcharity.org/ukraine-one-year-on-appeal/ 

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