Ashoka Fellows' response to the Ukrainian crisis

Na tle niebiesko-zółtej flagi Ukrainy niebieski napis "Our world is unpredictable. That's why we need to be ready to respond to unexpected events. Learn how Ashoka Fellows and other members of the community in the countries bordering Ukaine are responding to the war in Ukraine and imagining new reality."
Source: Ashoka Poland

As we watch a humanitarian crisis unfold in the middle of Europe, Ashoka’s network and community of changemakers are changing systems and taking action to support the most vulnerable.

 

Immediate humanitarian responses by Polish Ashoka Fellows and members of our community:

Witold Klaus – Stowarzyszenie Interwencji Prawnej – is part of the Polish Emergency Response Group coordinating the human services infrastructure and systems at the Polish-Ukrainian border, where over 300 000 people came in just four days to escape the war. 

Andrzej Augustyński – SMH Association – offers facilities and professional care for children from orphanages in Ukraine.

Katarzyna Batko-Tołuć and Jan Jakub Wygnański – The Civic Fund – launched several initiatives to coordinate the efforts of CSOs and citizens willing to support people fleeing the war zone to the territory of Poland. 

Dorota Komornicka – Fundusz Lokalny Masywu Śnieżnika – creates refugee reception centers in beautiful places in the mountains, making sure that they can have some peace on their way to a normal life. 

Barbara Sadowska – BARKA – Fundacja Pomocy Wzajemnej – creates a base of places in their communities, social enterprises and the infrastructure they have at their disposal to be able to receive people seeking refuge fleeing from a war-torn country; organizes psychological help; organizes support in the field of Polish language courses for people from Ukraine and translators.

Immediate humanitarian responses by Romanian Ashoka Fellows:

Ioana Bauer – eLiberare – is part of the Emergency Response Group and is setting up the human services infrastructure needed at the border by providing one focal point (social workers and translators) to help refugees with different statuses to navigate what is going to happen to them in Romania and what services and goods are provided by either state, NGOs or civil society. 
 
Dorica Dan – Centrul Noro – provides services and access to medicine and therapies for families and individuals with disabilities or rare diseases and is in contact with the counterpart organizations from Ukraine to communicate their services and offer them to the beneficiaries that are crossing and will cross the Romanian border. 

Immediate humanitarian responses by Czech Ashoka Fellows:  

Dagmar Doubravová – RUBIKON Centrum – organizes humanitarian support and activates the community around them, primarily for medical equipment.

Educational responses by Ashoka Fellows:

Jacek Strzemieczny’s organization Center for Citizenship Education organizes online training and training materials for parents and teachers on how to talk to kids about the war; they also coordinate a systemic response of the educational system, which will have to accept as soon as possible many children and youth from Ukraine to help them continue their education in Poland. 

Katarzyna Oleś – Dobrze Urodzeni – has created and promotes information on giving and receiving birth safely under the challenging conditions. 

Agata Teutsch (SI) – Fundacja Autonomia – works on anti-discrimination guidelines protecting female refugees and creating a truly safe environment for them wherever they arrive.

Teresa Ogrodzińska – Foundation for the development of children named after Jan Amos Komeński, Fundacja Rozwoju Dzieci – Inspirujemy. Edukujemy. Wspieramy. Od początku. (frd.org.pl) – develops a package of Play Groups for refugees with small children (in Ukrainian).

Dominika Szaciłło (SI) – Uwaga, śmieciarka jedzie - strona ogólnopolska – is using the incredible reach out of her organization to promote good practices of individual contributions to the humanitarian crisis response.