In May, our Foundation inaugurated a new program, Together for Support, generously funded by the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund.

The primary objective of this initiative is to deliver humanitarian assistance to the war-stricken populace of Kharkiv and Kherson regions and to establish safe havens in educational institutions within the Chernihiv region.

To actualize this program, we’ve sought the assistance of four NGOs from these regions, who are intimately familiar with the local population’s needs and have the capability to access frontline communities that are otherwise difficult to reach.

We hosted an in-person meeting with our partner organizations to deliberate on collaborative activities, acquire new insights, and foster stronger relationships.

Our Foundation’s team orchestrated practical training sessions for NGO representatives on subjects that will be instrumental in their forthcoming endeavors, including within the Together for Support program.

For instance, a day was specifically allocated for training on accountability and protection against sexual exploitation and abuse within CSOs and charitable foundations. Anastasiia Lytvynova, an expert in safety, accountability, and protection, elucidated the following:

• the concept of accountability and its key components;
• the nature of feedback and its various forms;
• the meaning of protection from sexual exploitation and abuse;
• the definition of prohibited behavior and strategies to prevent it;
• the circumstances, timing, and methods for reporting prohibited behavior.

The training session was interactive and sparked significant interest among the attendees. Representatives from civil society actively engaged in discussions on the topic, shared instances from their experiences and posed numerous questions to the speaker and their peers.

On a subsequent day, the colleagues gained deeper insights into monitoring, evaluation, and accountability within the Together for Support program from Hanna Havryliuk, EEF Monitoring and Evaluation Manager.

They also had the opportunity to pose questions to other Foundation specialists and discuss grant management. This day too was filled with vibrant discussions and resolution of many issues that emerged within the scope of partner projects.

While planning this event, our priority was to create a secure and congenial environment where mutual understanding, respect, and support are paramount. The aim was not only to work productively and exchange experiences but also to provide a respite from daily tasks.

Assisting others, particularly in frontline and border communities, demands immense effort, focus, and immersion in the lives of the affected populace.

This meeting reaffirmed our belief that our partners are committed to the effective and successful execution of the program, and everyone is prepared to exert every effort to achieve this.

We are delighted to collaborate with such organizations, to grow together, and to extend help to others. We have a significant amount of work ahead of us, but we are confident that by uniting our forces, we can overcome all potential challenges. After all, from the very outset, we have been together for the sake of support.