On the 28th of February 2022, 28 Country Representatives of the MDIO Rotaract Europe met to discuss the current Ukrainian crisis, share information from the borders, and centralise the aid efforts currently in place. Mrs. Dasha Shevtsova, CR of Ukraine, and Mrs. Iryna Bushmina, DRR of D2232, joined the meeting and reported on the current situation of Ukraine and our fellow Rotaractors and Rotarians.

Rotaractors of Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia are doing tremendous efforts to support people crossing the border to have food and accommodation. Their need for money is at the moment limited, and they have enough resources for the time being. The situation could however change quickly in ways that we cannot yet foresee.

Rotarian Mrs. Tetyan Prylipko, Committee Member of the District 2232, is still coordinating humanitarian aid at the Lviv hospitals, which are hosting thousands of civilians from other Ukrainian cities. All medical equipment and medications that are needed are listed here: https://bit.ly/3hiVNFO.

To provide support here, a joint action of Austria, Belgium, Italy, and Switzerland is in place for provision of medical supplies. Once the supplies are collected locally, we will organise a joint delivery to the Ukrainian border and the collection on the other site by Ukrainian Rotarians.

As regards fund-raising, a centralised campaign is currently in place on GoFundMe (https://gofund.me/05876825). Money is being collected, but no specifics on how it will be located are provided because it is still unclear where it will be needed the most in the next days.

Switzerland is also organising itself to host Ukrainian Rotaractors and Rotarians. More support for accommodation is needed from the clubs of Zurich. At the moment, only one long-term and one short-term accommodations are available. Strategically, Zurich would be at the moment the optimal choice for hosting our fellows. The University of Zurich and the ZHAW are offering pro bono a guest student status for Bachelor, Master and PhD students, but also fundings for junior and senior researchers to continue their academic work. The ÖBB allows Ukrainian to travel through their entire transportation network for free. The same is true for Hungarian transportations, Therefore, Ukrainian can easily arrive to Zurich in one day of travel.

For the purpose of accommodation, a form has been opened: https://forms.gle/ooZs5Psp9aKM9e678. Please, fill out this form indicating exactly the period of time which you would be ready to host a fellow Rotaractor for. The information will be managed centrally to distribute evenly all those in need. Also provide the same information on the form below, so that the CRSL board can know where internal support and communication with the authorities is needed the most.

Rotaract Europe has also established a central communication channel with daily updates on its main website. Here you can find regular updates and efforts country by country. This communication channel will offer everyone the possibility to help according to the own specific situation and possibilities. Find out more at the following link: https://rotaracteurope.eu/united-for-peace/.

Finally, an overview of the overall situation is in place to evaluate an action of Rotaract Europe also in support of the general population.