200,000 food packages: who delivers humanitarian aid to the villages and how?

203,657 food packages were issued to residents of villages and settlements of Donetsk region by mobile teams of Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center. Since May 2015 mobile teams help the residents of the most remote and hard-to-reach settlements in non-government-controlled areas and the "grey zone".

"We issue humanitarian aid not only in cities, but also in small towns and forgotten villages/settlements. Other humanitarian missions visit these places very seldom, that's why local population really needs humanitarian aid and simple human attention. The Humanitarian Center's packages are not just food for them, but also the symbol of personal involvement and care", – Natalia Baryshpolska, the Head of "Humanitarian Aid" program at Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center, shared.

There are three mobile teams operating in the Center. Each of them consists of seven people: coordinator, driver and delivery men. Back in the peaceful time none of them was involved in humanitarian aid or charity. The war forced them to change their specialization. For example, a mobile team working in non-government-controlled areas fully consists of FC Shakhtar and Donbas Arena employees.

Mobile volunteers are multifunctional workers. They can rotate as a loader, computer operator, supervisor and moderator. Often they also have to act as a psychologist. Despite the fact that the guys are forced to work in a very intense rhythm, constant stress and often under fire, they do not give up. Because they know that their compatriots need humanitarian aid, and it is very important for them. Every time when issuing food packages we hear two phrases: "Rinat Akhmetov is the only one, who didn't leave us all alone, who remembers us and helps" and "Please, bring peace to us", – Andrii Sanin, the Manager of the Center's logistic warehouse at Donbas Arena, shares.

The schedule of mobile teams' trips can be found on the website of Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center. The information on volunteers' trips is updated every day.