From Humanitarian Aid to Arranging Housing: One Year of Cooperation Between the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation and IAmMariupol IDP Support Centres

A year ago, on 11 July 2022, the cooperation between the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation and IAmMariupol support centres began.
The impetus for such cooperation was the urgent need to support civilians who lost everything because of the war. Those who witnessed how all hell broke loose and who managed to escape from it.

During this year, residents of Mariupol, who now live in different places, regularly received some essential items and food assistance. People were in dire need of hygiene kits, and the Foundation provided 40,000 units of those to local hubs.

At the same time, the Foundation also dispatched its food assistance packages. For now, IDPs from Mariupol have received more than 36,000 of them, and more is to come. This aid is provided within the framework of the program Rinat Akhmetov – Saving Lives.

As part of the program Rinat Akhmetov for Children, the Foundation provided more than 16,000 sweet gifts on the occasion of special holidays – the International Children’s Day and New Year – for children who used to live and grow up in Mariupol.

In addition, the Foundation took care of their safety on the road. In the winter of 2023, 9,000 children of IDPs from Mariupol received reflective flicker bracelets from the Foundation.

However, the cooperation is not limited to this help. Thus, recently, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation became a partner of a pilot project on temporary social housing for Mariupol residents #IAmMariupolHousing. The Foundation undertook to set up and equip common use areas, from toys in the children’s room to furniture and appliances in the hall, co-working space, and common kitchen. 

The first hostel of 35 flats was opened in Dnipro. It accommodates 127 people now. Of them, 55 are children, 7 of whom have disabilities. The Foundation will also take part in the outfitting of other houses for residents of Mariupol.

So the aid has been provided, continues to be provided now, and more is to come…

Since 2014, the Foundation has handed over 13 million food assistance packages to Ukrainians. During the period, the assistance from the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, SCM businesses and Shakhtar football club reached more than 18 million people.