East Europe Foundation, with the support of the Ukrainian Humanitarian Fund, has implemented the “Together We Shelter” program. This initiative aims to bolster the capabilities of Ukrainian Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) that provide essential services to individuals impacted by the war.

In response to the full-scale military aggression against Ukraine in March 2022, East Europe Foundation launched the Shelter multi-donor program. Leveraging our partner organizations’ network, we have distributed over 275 tons of humanitarian aid across 20 regions of Ukraine within a year. We have also established 50 shelters for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), extending assistance to over 65,000 individuals.

The “Together We Shelter” program is a strategic extension of the activities initiated by the Foundation in March 2022. Guided by our population needs assessment, the Foundation has focused its efforts on liberated areas and regions with the highest concentration of IDP centers.

The “Together We Shelter” program primarily serves individuals affected by the hostilities, including people with disabilities, the elderly, low-income individuals, single parents, and large families.

Over the course of the program’s implementation, we have achieved the following milestones:

• Twenty-six grants to local organizations in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Lviv, and Kherson regions have been awarded. During the program’s first phase, nine grants totaling up to UAH 1,100,000 were allocated for the refurbishment and equipping of shelters for IDPs. In the second phase, we awarded 17 grants totaling up to UAH 950,000 to CSOs to address the non-food needs of the affected population. Collectively, the program has extended aid to over 11,000 individuals.
• Capacity-building activities for CSOs have been conducted. All partner 24 CSOs underwent an organizational capacity assessment and received tailored development plans. They also had the opportunity to enhance their effectiveness through expert-led trainings. More than 80 CSO representatives completed the training program, which included 100 hours of individual and group mentoring sessions.
• We have developed an online course titled “How to Prevent 90% of Problems in Humanitarian Response”. This course is designed to enhance the knowledge and professionalism of the public sector. It is available free of charge on the Zrozumilo! educational platform. The course delves into the fundamental principles and standards of humanitarian response, such as the standard of accountability to the affected population and the policy on protection from sexual exploitation and abuse. To date, about 500 people have registered for the course.

The program ran from December 2022 to February 2024.

Photo: Olena Tytarenko