CARE FOR UKRAINE
CARE is a global confederation that has been fighting poverty and social injustice for over 75 years. From the very outset of the crisis in Ukraine, CARE launched one of the largest humanitarian deployments in Europe in the last 50 years called CARE FOR UKRAINE. This action was made possible by funding from the global confederation CARE and local coordination by SERA Romania Foundation with the support of CARE France and FONPC (Federation of Non-Governmental Organizations for Children). Coordination at national level was done by SERA Romania Foundation – a non-governmental, non-profit, private organization that has been active in child protection and promotion of children’s rights in Romania for 26 years.
The war in Ukraine has required extensive immediate and long-term support actions in countries bordering the conflict. In Romania, SERA has coordinated, together with its partners, over 35 different direct aid projects, from the infrastructure needed to receive refugees at the border to the coordination of food and medicine convoys to Ukraine, but also management of refugees settled in Romania, providing specific support related to food, shelter, psychological, legal and medical assistance, training and facilities for children, social and educational inclusion, etc. In two years since the beginning of the conflict, CARE has offered support to 131.941 Ukrainian refugees in Romania, 11,912 in the Republic of Moldova and 69,314 vulnerable people trapped by the war on Ukrainian territory to whom 375 tons of aid were sent.
35 non-governmental organizations form the core of a collective intervention providing integrated support to those fleeing war, mostly women and children.
The SERA Foundation and its strategic partners, CARE France and FONPC, have developed a 24-month action plan to provide financial, procedural and logistical support to NGOs involved in the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis, as the needs of refugees are constantly evolving. “The biggest challenge was the speed of response. Practically overnight we had to mobilize hundreds of people, social protection specialists, psychologists, interpreters, doctors. Then we had to provide coordination for the thousands of volunteers who wanted to get involved but were lacking the framework. CARE has made a remarkable effort gathering funding from 75 national CARE network member centers, which it has then redirected to critical refugee management areas, Romania being among the most significant. We now coordinate and oversee the activities of 35 organizations running support programs as well as our own support actions.” – Bogdan Simion, Managing Director of SERA Romania.
Many of the teams of CARE-supported organizations and their volunteers were on the ground at border crossings to provide immediate support to Ukrainian children and families fleeing the war. Non-perishable food items, hot meals, personal hygiene products, medicines, clothing, free accommodation, legal and psychological counselling, translation, transport and orientation are part of the support offered.
Other organizations received refugees in centers and spaces set up in Bucharest / Ilfov and others across the country: Tulcea, Galați, Baia Mare, Sighetul Marmației, Târgul Lăpuș, Suceava, Iași, Vaslui, Bacău, Satu-Mare și Timișoara, providing accommodation and meals, transport, medical, psychological, legal and trafficking prevention support, as well as education and social assistance services.
The organizations and projects supported by CARE FOR UKRAINE and implemented nationwide by SERA Romania Foundation with the support of CARE France and FONPC are: YouHub Association, FARA Foundation, ESTUAR Foundation, CARUSEL Association, ESPERANDO Association, Parada Foundation, AMURTEL Romania Assistance Association, Baia Mare Autism Asoc., Create Yourself Association, ECLER, The International Foundation for Child and Family, Q-ARTS Association, The Social Incubator Association, Buna Ziua Copii Association, ANAIS Association, Social Assistance Professors ASSOC Association, Radauti Civic Association, Hand across Romania Association, Inimă de Copil Foundation, National Organization Romania’s Boyscouts, ALLIAT MH, Society for Children and Parents, Federation of Non-Governmental Organizations for Social Services, Federation of Non-Governmental Organizations for Children, Club Sportiv Olimpic Snagov Association, Bethany Social Services Foundation, Profilaxis Medical Aid Foundation, Star of Hope Romania Foundation, ELIBERARE Foundation, DGASPC Sector 1, DGASMB, DGASPC Sector 3, DGASPC Tulcea, DGASPC Suceava, DGASPC Maramureș, DGASPC Brasov.
