Emergency shelter for people fleeing Ukraine

I’VE been in Poland since the start of March with the international disaster relief charity ShelterBox, working closely with other organisations to help people affected by the deteriorating crisis in Ukraine.

The number of people who’ve had to leave their homes is close to 10 million – that’s almost a quarter of Ukraine’s entire population uprooted. At we specialise in emergency shelter, and we’ll be supporting people who have stayed in Ukraine, or been displaced internally, as well as those who’ve fled the country.

The situation is complex and constantly changing so to be effective, aid delivery must be well co-ordinated.

We also have a team in Moldova as we take the necessary time to understand where and how we can support people as well as working with others as part of the wider humanitarian response.

We are drawing on our significant experience of working in conflict areas around the world, including cross-border working with partners in Syria over the last 10 years. The people with the fewest resources or options to leave are often those who stay behind, living or sheltering in buildings that have been damaged. We are preparing to provide shelter kits with tools, rope, solar lights, hygiene kits, and water carriers to help people survive.

As the conflict continues, we expect the needs of people reaching the borders to increase. We’ll be supporting people who have become refugees in neighbouring countries with items they can carry with them, like toothpaste, soap and warm winter coats.

We already have thousands of mattresses arriving in collective centres like schools, churches and sports centres in Lviv to help people keep warm at night. It’s been possible thanks to supporters of our Ukraine Appeal, and close working with local agencies, the UN, other international aid organisations and Rotary. Martin Strutton

ShelterBox