6 million survival kits are issued by Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center to Donbas civilians

Over the whole period of Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center's operation Donbas civilians received 6,180,000 adult food packages on both sides of the contact line. This is more than 75,000 tons of food that were provided to the most vulnerable categories of population during the entire military conflict. 65% of recipients are retired people older than 65, 5.7% are disabled people, single parents make 3.95%, pregnant women are about 1%. Altogether there are 10 benefit-entitled categories of population.

The food assistance was granted to local residents and IDPs in 310 Donbas towns and villages that have more than 100 fixed issuing points opened there or have been visited by mobile team of volunteers at least once.

In fact, Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center managed to build a unique mechanism for humanitarian aid provision, from food procurement to its delivery and issuance to recipients. There are 2-4 truck convoys with humanitarian aid being sent to Donbas every week, the delivered goods are used to form the required stocks at the Center's warehouses. Every 35 days up to 500,000 people receive humanitarian food packages.

Starting from May 2015, Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center delivers food assistance to the settlements in "grey zone" through mobile groups of volunteers.

"The humanitarian aid of other missions rarely reaches the "grey zone". It is difficult and dangerous for local residents to go to the neighbouring villages to buy food or get social payments. Over seven months of work we have been convinced in great demand for this direction. People line up for survival kits. According to our volunteers, this aid becomes the means of survival for many families, – Oleksandr Vyshniakov, the Humanitarian Center's Director, shares. – We found out about one of these families through the visit of our brigade to Heorhiivka village in Marinka raion. Mother and grandmother are raising a disabled child with a serious illness and developmental problems. He needs care 24/7. The Humanitarian Center took this family under its wing and provides them with food and necessary medications".

During the operation of the Humanitarian Center's mobile volunteers more than 76,000 people were provided with food assistance. In January 2016 the volunteers will visit 10 more villages, where they are planning to issue 5,000 survival kits, including the settlements that have never been provided with humanitarian aid before.

Tomorrow, on January 12, the first convoy in 2016 with humanitarian aid from Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center is leaving for Donbas. "We start this year in the intensive mode. This week we are planning to deliver food to Donbas Arena every day during five days. These are more than 150,000 survival kits for adults and 20,000 children packages. Our further plans depend on humanitarian situation. We have an action plan for the next three months. Our main directions – ‘Humanitarian aid to adults and children’ and ‘Targeted assistance’, remain in the focus of the Center's attention", – Oleksandr Vyshniakov summarized.