• Annual report of the Estonian Refugee Council 2022
• We supported the people who suffered from the blowing up of the Kahovka dam
• In three months, we have distributed nearly 13,000 food packages to nearly 13,000 people in Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kherson regions.
• The generator in Kharkiv, purchased with the support of Estonian donors, helps keep the water station system running, which provides daily water for half a million people and the city's main hospital providesdaily water for half a million people and the city's main hospital
• Over 9,000 people went through the temporary protection adaptation program with us. At the moment, the training have ended with us, the trainings of the international defense adaptation program are continuing.
• The first camp for refugee children and Estonian children took place this summer, where 20 children aged 7-13 participated. There are four more camps upcoming this summer, for nearly 100 children.

Humanitarian aid in Ukraine

What do we do now? 

• We provide multi-purpose cash assistance, with which people can buy food, medicine, hygiene supplies and other basic necessities. As of now, we have provided cash-based assistance to approximately 242,000 people, worth a total of 44 million euros. The allowance is UAH 2,220 (= about EUR 61) per household member per month. You can get help for a total of three months. A separate call centre and application platform have been opened for applying for cash-based support in Ukraine.
• In April, we restarted the food security program, and within three months, we distributed nearly 13,000 food packages to nearly 13,000 people. We are intervening with aid in Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Kharkiv regions. In addition, we responded quickly in the Kherson region to help victims of the blowing up of the Kahovka dam.
• We are part of the Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI), within which we help the humanitarian aid sector to keep a constant overview of where and how the markets are functioning in Ukraine, whether and how fast the prices of basic commodities are rising, etc. Our area of responsibility is Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv Oblasts.

In addition to the support of Estonian donors, we also make financial interventions with international partners: the European Union (ECHO), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the International Rescue Committee (IRC), the World Food Program (WFP).

Supporting Ukrainian refugees in Estonia

What are we doing now?

• We advise people in Tallinn (Vambola 6, ERC office) from Tuesday to Thursday (10 am-5 pm). We also have the helpline +372 5881 1311 (Mon-Fri from 10 am to 5 pm); e-mail dopomoha@pagulasabi.ee; Viber, Whatsapp, and Telegram channels are also open for getting advice at +372 5464 0007.
• We started with an updated program of training supporting adaptation. We organise training across Estonia on five topics: education system, entrepreneurship, legal issues in the example of Estonia and Ukraine, the field of work and digital skills. To date, 228 digital skills workshops and 226 work-related group counselling sessions have taken place. In addition, 3 educational, 3 legal and 3 educational consultations. Counselling takes place all over Estonia, both through contact meetings and online, and nearly 3,700 Ukrainian refugees have taken part in them.
• We organise(d) international and temporary protection adaptation program training.
• A total of over 9,000 people went through the temporary protection adaptation program with us. At the moment, the trainings have ended. Close to 2000 people have completed the international protection adaptation program with us. There are many more trainings to come, more information here.
• We regularly offer support person services to refugees all over Estonia. People can be sent to us through local governments. More information is here.
• We provide accommodation from our database. Due to the shortage of accommodation places, we currently do not provide long-term accommodation in public facilities managed by the Social Insurance Board. We focus on providing emergency accommodation to those Ukrainians who have suddenly lost their place of residence. We collect accommodation offers from private individuals (primarily in Tallinn, Tartu and other major cities). Offers can be entered via the form on the website.
• Together with Garage48, we help Ukrainian women to start micro-enterprises in Estonia. The best women's teams in the entrepreneurship program have been selected, and the participants are being counselled and supported.
• In the direction of mental health, in cooperation with the NGO Peaasjad, we brought to Estonia a methodology called MindSpring, which supports the adaptation of people with a refugee background to a new environment. We offer the program to refugees all over Estonia. The first groups started in March, and today there are 6 groups in Keila, Viljandi, Tallinn and Tartu.
• As part of the community program, we organise regular group activities (women's and men's groups, adaptation clubs) and larger family events. A total of 133 events/group activities have taken place this year, in which more than 2,200 people have participated. In addition, the first children's camp took place in June, where 20 children aged 7-13 participated. The bigger camp starts in August, when we will organise four more camps for about 100 children.
• The most important information for refugees is at the top of our website in the frequently asked questions section. We continuously update the information in the section in Estonian, English, Russian and Ukrainian.

 

Estonian Refugee Council's activities in Ukraine are financed by donations from private individuals and companies, as well as by various institutional donors. You can continue to support our activities on our website or on the For Ukraine campaign page.

NGO Estonian Refugee Council (ERC) is a public interest non-profit organisation founded in 2000, whose goal is to stand up for the rights and well-being of refugees in Estonia and abroad. Estonian Refugee Council is a humanitarian aid organisation certified by the European Union. ERC has been providing humanitarian aid in Eastern Ukraine since 2014.