Ukraine: Johanniter aid reaches affected people
Relief supplies worth 200,000 Euros were procured for people in the trapped villages north of Kherson.
Four days after the destruction, water continues to flow from the Kakhovka dam. Over 600 square kilometres of the Kherson region are already underwater. The full extent of the disaster is not yet foreseeable, hundreds of thousands could suffer from water shortages in the coming weeks. North of Kherson city, in the Chernobraivka region, villages are also trapped by water and difficult to access for aid organisations. Yesterday, the staff of the Johanniter partner organisation NEW DAWN reached the remote villages by boat.
On board, they carried drinking water and water filters that can purify 1200 litres of water per day. On the way back, they picked up people and animals to take them to safer areas. “Boats are not available in the villages and many inhabitants cannot swim,” reports Philipp Francke, coordinator at NEW DAWN.
The Johanniter partner organisation ELEOS is also helping with the evacuation. A total of nine boats from both organisations are already in operation, bringing relief supplies to the villages on the way there and people to safety on the way back. “The willingness of the Ukrainian population to donate is enormous. We get so many things donated that we had to set up a distribution centre, where trucks now bring relief goods from Odessa to Kherson every day. From here, the goods are then distributed by boats,” Francke describes the situation.
The aid measures are made more difficult by the difficult security situation. “There was heavy shelling in our project region yesterday. Our staff were just able to get to safety," explains Philipp Francke, who was born in Hamburg.
200,000 euros provided for emergency aid
In addition to donations from the population, NEW DAWN and ELEOS are using funds from Johanniter to procure up to 1,000 water filters, 1,000 hygiene kits, clothing, life jackets, medicines, mattresses, camp beds and about 100,000 litres of drinking water. For the time being, Johanniter is providing a total of 200,000 Euros for emergency relief after the flood disaster.
This includes a significant contribution from the BayWa Foundation. Already since the beginning of the war, the foundation and BayWa AG have supported St John with logistics as well as large donations. “We are very grateful for this great cooperation,” says Susanne Wesemann, Head of Johanniter International Assistance, happily.
Johanniter in Ukraine
The Johanniter have been working in Ukraine since the beginning of the war. They help refugees, displaced people, those who have stayed and returnees in different regions of Ukraine. Together with partners in 100 towns and villages across the country, Johanniter supports around 30,000 people with food and hygiene items every month.