Mayor of Sviatohirsk, Volodymyr Rybalkin, requested help on a call with leadership from Easton and Ashland; they were in need of a new dump truck and some additional fixes to an existing vehicle.
Another wonderful holiday celebration was made possible thanks to support from Friendship Cities Westport, USA, Marginey, France, and Didcot, England. Over 650 gifts were distributed to youth across Lyman with support from volunteers.
Kostiantynivka requested in kind aid of fire fighter gear. The UAI team coordinated the collection of this gear from across our sister cities. Thanks to our network of volunteers we were able to pack these materials up for shipment and they are now preparing their long journey to Ukraine. The equipment is now being shipped along with 2 ambulances to be delivered to Iziyum.
In an effort to reduce rubble and clear streets the civilian leadership of Kostiantynivka requested a crane. This vital machinery would ensure accessible roads for evacuation and delivery of additional aid. A crane in the region also allows communities to manage damage to buildings, ensuring disrepair is not the cause of more disaster as air raids and bombings continue in the region.
A major request of the Mayor of Siversk was a van to alleviate the evacuation and deliveries into and out of Siversk.
The UAI team worked to locate a vehicle just for that purpose! It was delivered to the community by our VP Marshall Mayer, and Director of Operations Bogdan in early October.
The Students of Sviatohirsk and Easton attended a joint video call as part of our cultural exchange program. In Sviatohirsk, Executive Director Brian Mayer and Operations Director Bogdan Shestopalov joined students in their classroom for the call. Meanwhile in Easton, Director of Development Katya Wauchope joined the Easton Committee members in their classroom.
UAI helped deliver 2 tonnes of food to our friends who run a civilian food bank in UAI’s sister city, Kramatorsk.
Varge started the charity in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea. He talked with UAI Volunteer Alison about the day-to-day struggles of Kramatorsk civilians who navigate unemployment and a steep increase in the cost of living.
In collaboration with our partners at Wise Water we installed a much needed water filtration system to the city of Sviatohirsk! This system will enable thousands of gallons of water from the local well to become clean drinking and cleaning water- a commodity limited thanks to attacks affecting prior water systems in the city.
Urgent needs arise in front line communities sometimes overnight. The latest of which was a request for rat poison. With air raids overhead civilians are often forced into basements and bunkers. In an effort to provide more cleanliness and comfort to our neighbors in Siversk, Weston urgently fundraised for the delivery of rat poison.
