Together with Ukrainian partner organisations and numerous AWO associations in Germany, AWO International provided rapid emergency aid from February 2022. From February to July 2022, we carried out 19 aid transports to Ukraine or to the border in cooperation with various AWO associations. Urgently needed supplies such as food, sleeping bags, hygiene items, medicines and medical equipment were delivered to Ukraine and distributed locally. After the initial emergency response in the first months of the war, the focus of our work is now on reconstruction, winter relief and psychosocial support. By the end of 2024, more than 218,000 people and 140 social institutions - including kindergartens, nursing homes, and hospitals - have already been directly supported.
Clean water and heat: aid for southern Ukraine
With financial support from the German Foreign Office, AWO International is providing access to clean drinking water and sanitation in southern Ukraine. School toilets, for example, are being renovated. Especially during the winter, many families rely on firewood, which AWO International provides.
A new beginning in central Ukraine: Reconstruction in Bucha and Irpin
Reconstruction is also a priority in central Ukraine. In Bucha and Irpin, new community centres are being built to serve as meeting places for the local population and to strengthen social cohesion. Employment opportunities are also being created to provide new prospects for war-affected families.
Successes that give us hope
After the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, AWO International supported the reconstruction of housing and social facilities in Kherson and Mykolaiv. In Chernihiv, learning centres were set up and schools were provided with heated rooms so that children could play and learn in a safe environment despite the war. In Lviv, AWO International supported the renovation of a women's shelter, providing a safe place for women affected by war and violence.
Every donation helps us to support the local people.
Donation account: AWO International
IBAN: DE83 1002 0500 0003 2211 00
Keyword: Emergency aid Ukraine
Our partner organisation Narodna Dopomoha Ukraine (NDU) distributes emergency aid packages with food and hygiene items to IDPs in Chernivtsi.
Together with the local partner organisation savED, we provide children in Chernihiv with safe learning environments and renovate destroyed schools.
Together with various AWO associations from Germany, AWO International brought 92 tonnes of relief supplies to Ukraine - including food, bandages and medical equipment.
In Butscha, Irpin and Hostomel, together with the local partner organisation NDU, we have already supported 550 families in repairing destroyed doors and windows.
During a project visit in February 2023, colleagues from AWO International and the partner organisation NDU visited one of the already repaired schools in Butscha. Together with NDU, we have already repaired seven schools and kindergarten buildings.
We have already set up 20 warming rooms in Chernihiv. There, people can warm up with hot drinks in winter and are provided with blankets and power banks.
Together with VOSTOK SOS, we support vulnerable Ukrainian women and IDPs and provide psychological support.
The Women and Girls Safe Space, run by our partner organisation Vostok SOS, offers children and their mothers a safe place to play, share and rest.
Since autumn 2024, our renovated women’s shelter in Lviv provides a safe place and support for women who have experienced gender-based violence or are affected by the war, helping them start anew.
Together with our partner organisations, we are creating safe spaces for children to learn and providing them with tailor-made support.
Help for refugees and vulnerable people in Ukraine
From July 2022 to December 2023, AWO International, together with Solidar Suisse and the Ukrainian partner organisations VOSTOK SOS and VIS, supported vulnerable Ukrainians and internally displaced persons in the regions of Zakarpattia and Vinnytsia. As part of the project, our partner organisations distributed food and hygiene products and provided psychological support. They also evacuated elderly and vulnerable people from conflict zones and set up a safe space for women and girls. Through social, artistic, and sporting activities, the affected individuals received essential support.
Winter aid in Kyiv: Repairs for a safe home
In the Kyiv region, AWO International, in collaboration with Volkshilfe Österreich and the local partner organization Narodna Dopomoha Ukraine (NDU), was involved in winter aid. By September 2023, 1,430 families were supported in repairing their homes damaged by the war. In addition, eight schools and kindergartens in Irpin, Bucha and Hostomel were renovated and turned into safe shelters.
Emergency relief kits and psychosocial support in Chernivtsi
From April 2022 to March 2023, AWO International worked with Volkshilfe Österreich and NDU in Chernivtsi. NDU regularly distributed food and hygiene parcels and provided legal advice and psychosocial group services. In total, more than 16,000 people were reached.
Social services in Chernihiv
Together with the Ukrainian NGO Right to Protection (R2P), AWO International implemented a project to improve social services in Chernihiv from December 2022 to August 2023. By training professionals and renovating and equipping social facilities, nearly 18,000 people received much-needed support.
School renovations and mobile care teams in Chernihiv and Sumy
Our local partner organisation SavED renovated destroyed classrooms and provided 20 schools with "warming rooms" to serve as meeting and learning spaces. Additionally, in Chernihiv and Sumy, we worked with Right to Protection (R2P) and Solidar Suisse on a project to support particularly vulnerable war-affected individuals. As part of this project, 30 social facilities were renovated and mobile care teams provided tailored care to adults and children directly in their homes.
Flood relief in Kherson and Mykolaiv
Following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, flooding caused severe damage. AWO International worked with the Ukrainian NGO Let's Do It Ukraine to renovate three destroyed social facilities. In addition, 192 apartments were rehabilitated by helping residents to clean, dry and disinfect their homes.
Psychological support for refugees in Zhytomyr
In the Zhytomyr region, the Ukrainian organisation Rokada provided psychological support to refugees through individual and group sessions. To support professionals working under high stress, training on self-care and self-responsibility was also conducted.
Women's shelter in Lviv: protection and new opportunities for affected women
Since November 2022, AWO International has been working with local partner organisation Walnut House to renovate a women's shelter in Lviv. Since its opening in autumn 2024, women who have experienced domestic or gender-based violence, or who have been affected by the war, can find a safe place and support services to help them make a new start.
So far, more than 8 million people from Ukraine have sought refuge outside the country, most of them in neighbouring countries such as Poland, Moldova, Hungary or Romania. Together with Solidar Suisse and three Romanian NGOs, AWO International supported refugees in Romania at the beginning of the war.
- In Timișoara, our Romanian partner organization LOGS distributed vouchers and cash to refugees and provided counseling on issues such as housing, employment, and schooling.
- In Brașov, we worked with the Romanian NGO Migrant Integration Center to support refugees through cash distributions, psychological support and social activities.
- At the border crossings between Romania and Ukraine and Romania and Moldova, our partner organisation AIDRom distributed food, hygiene items and medicines
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