How has Donbas Arena become the core of the Humanitarian Center's logistics

Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center has been delivering humanitarian aid to Donbas civilians for two years already. The first trucks with food packages arrived at Donbas Arena on August 27, 2014.

At first the survival kits were delivered from Mariupol to Donetsk already packed. Back then the packages were formed by employees of Azovstal and MMKI.

"When we were sending the first convoy to Donetsk, we had a goal to dispatch 6,000 packages. Over time, we already had other norms – 10,000, 12,000, 15,000 packages. In August 2014 we could unload one truck at Donbas Arena at a time, now we unload eight heavy-duty trucks", ‒ Oleksandr Vyshniakov, Director of Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center, shares.

But since the transportation of the packed survival kits from Mariupol to Donetsk affected the quality and condition of food products, the Humanitarian Center's management decided to form the packages at Donbas Arena.

"The most important and complex task was learning to form the survival kits according to conveyor principle. This method was invented and implemented by our volunteers. The point is that some of the volunteers go around a big circle, and others put food in their bags. By the end of the circle each volunteer has a ready survival kit. Thanks to conveyor system, it takes no longer than 52 seconds to form a package", ‒ Oleksandr Vyshniakov explains.

Donbas Arena has promptly transformed into logistic centre. Parking places are functioning as warehouses now. Food products are everywhere ‒ canned pate and cereals are stored in the place, where football equipment used to be.

Over two years they formed more than 8.4 million food packages at Donbas Arena. This humanitarian aid was received by the most vulnerable residents of non-government-controlled areas of Donbas: elderly and disabled people, families with many children, single parents.