150,000 survival kits from mobile teams: how is the humanitarian aid delivered to Donbas villages?

152,748 adult and children survival kits are already delivered to villages and settlements of Donetsk region by mobile volunteer teams of Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center. The geography of humanitarian aid delivery by mobile volunteers covers 425 settlements More than half of them are the "grey zone".

"The volunteers covered the total distance of 70,000 kilometres on the country roads. We try not only deliver humanitarian aid, but do it in the most convenient and safe way for the people. Mobile teams are the most effective way. "Special trips imply delivering humanitarian aid to the "hot spots", where shelling never stops and people are staying in very severe and dangerous conditions. We made several trips to each of the settlements like Pisky, Mayorsk, Hranitne, Opytne, Avdiivka, Artemove and two more dozens of them, understanding that people are waiting for help and need it. For many people, who have no opportunity to leave, the food packages are the only source of survival", ‒ Oleksandr Vyshniakov, Director of the Humanitarian Center, shared.

There are two mobile teams working today, on June 13. In the morning the issuance started in Kirove settlement, not far from Toretsk. Humanitarian aid is also issued in Amvrosiivka in the mode of a semi-fixed issuing point.

The Center has three mobile teams consisting of five people each. Every team takes more than six trips per month. During one day the volunteers manage to issue from 100 to 1,000 food packages.

"The team's workday starts long before the dawn. Getting together, loading and rechecking of humanitarian cargo and all the necessary documents. It is followed by the long road to people, going through checkpoints with inspections and waiting. The longest workday lasted 22 hours. We often wait out shelling right in the fields. A trip is usually taken by five volunteers, including the driver, local residents often help. During the day each of them has enormous amount of work, it is often accompanied by shelling nearby. One issuance brings together hundreds of residents, each of them shares their needs and troubles. We try not only to issue a package, but also to listen and support", ‒ Yuliia Malakhova, the Center's coordinator for mobile teams, shared. 

Humanitarian aid from mobile teams of Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center can be received by civilians and IDPs of the most vulnerable categories. The list of categories and the schedules of volunteers' trips till the end of June can be found here.