Dutch public donated €183 million to major Ukraine fundraising campaign
In the past year, Netherlands residents raised over 183 million euros to Giro555 for aid to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion. Dutch aid organizations have so far helped over 2.8 million Ukrainians with the “overwhelming campaign proceeds,” they said on Tuesday.
Up to the end of November 2022, the aid organizations spent 87.9 million euros on helping Ukrainians. Over 35 million euros went to living expenses, 15 million euros to food, and 9.5 million to shelter. Almost three-quarters were spent in Ukraine itself. The rest went to Ukrainians fleeing from the war.
The provided aid included temporary shelter, food, hygiene packages, clean drinking water, cash for clothes or medicine, medical help, psychological support, and trauma care. “The aid organizations also did everything they could to prepare Ukrainians for the arrival of a very harsh winter,” the organizations behind Giro555 said. Russian attacks on infrastructure resulted in prolonged blackouts. So the aid organizations distributed generators, stoves, firewood, and warm clothing.
“During my visit to Ukraine, I saw how the help we provide gives people hope in the darkest days of their lives,” said Marco van der Graaf, director of World Vision, one of the organizations behind Giro555. “Food packages and financial contributions for buying clothes or medicines are of enormous significance.”
Tineke Celeen, director of the refugees’ organization Vluchtelingenwerk Nederland, also recently returned from Ukraine. “I have been to several elderly people’s homes and have seen that the stoves we gave them were gratefully burning. We also handed out firewood, winter clothing, blankets, and energy kits with flashlights, a power bank, candles, and a small stove,” she said. “In the devastation of the bombings, in the fear of war, and in the grief of losing a peaceful, safe old age, those relief items have been essential to give people back some warmth and a little faith in their fellow humans.”
Giro555 is still open for donations. You can donate here.
