😎 The co-founders of SILab Ukraine discussed social entrepreneurship and investing with Ryan Grant Little in the EVPA podcast Anna and Olena shared the experience of our activities in the development of the ecosystem of social entrepreneurship, and also discussed the changes that happened in Ukraine as a result of the barbaric attack of russia 🇺🇦 💙 Listen to the podcast and share your impressions under this post. What surprised you the most? Do you agree with the co-founders that the future of Ukraine lies in social entrepreneurship and investment? Listen here

In peacetime, the NGO "Center for Medical Innovation" in Lutsk focused on finding and developing innovative startups in the field of medicine. With the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the team on the basis of the organization opened a Center for Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons, which has 284 sleeping places. Currently, about 130 people live in shelters on a permanent basis. The project is implemented within the framework of the Shelter Ukraine program, which supports initiatives that create, arrange and support shelters for internally displaced persons, providing their residents with basic necessities. “During the month of work, we managed to help more than 1,000 refugees, two hundred of whom are children of all ages. In cooperation with the Korsaki Museum of Contemporary Ukrainian Art, we involve young people and children in art therapy and spending time together” — Tetyana Repnytska, the Center's director. In general, the Center constantly conducts various trainings and not only for children. Here you can take courses in tactical medicine, get legal advice and psychological assistance. With the help of the Shelter Ukraine program, residents of the shelter receive three meals a day. More about Shelter Ukraine

At the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion, many Ukrainians fled abroad, and the activities of most charitable organizations, especially international ones, were aimed precisely at their support. Nevertheless, some of the people who lost their homes due to russia's aggression were looking for shelters within Ukraine and needed some help as well. The Shelter Ukraine initiative emerged to organize comfortable conditions for living in safer regions of Ukraine and reduce the outflow of Ukrainians abroad. It united four organizations — SILab Ukraine, “Teple misto”, Valores Foundation and VPLYV FUND. Read about our initiative and help us to provide shelters to civilians in Ukraine: https://cutt.ly/qLsmbZS

"What I like most about volunteering is the people…" ⠀ We want to tell about everyone without whom the work of our volunteer initiative Shelter Ukraine would be simply impossible. Today, we want to share with you a story of a volunteer from Bohuslav, where, together with the NGO "Bohuslav Sich" and within the framework of the Shelter Ukraine initiative, we were able to distribute 230 food, hygiene and children's kits among internally displaced Ukrainians affected by the war. Kseniia Fedusenko will tell us why she decided to volunteer, will share her stories and tell us what she will do first after winning ⠀ «First of all, I associate volunteering, of course, with help - it doesn't matter what kind of help and for whom, the main thing is to help those who need it!». ⠀ I am Kseniia Fedusenko. I am 26 years old. I am from the city of Bohuslav, which is in the Kyiv region. I am a journalist and currently a volunteer. It is actually impossible to single out a specific day, time or moment when my "volunteer story" began. Just somehow, somewhere at the end of March, I responded to the offer of a colleague and friend to help in the formation of kits for those who need them. And then, after getting to know the team of volunteers, feeling that the work they do is not only important, but for someone even vital - I wanted to become a part of this team! The thing I like most about volunteering is people, however strange it may sound. Why people? Because mostly they fill the weekdays of volunteers. Good, grateful, pleasant citizens who are now forced by fate to look for help and support in completely unfamiliar places. When I joined the volunteer initiative, one of my tasks, in addition to helping unload the humanitarian aid and forming kits, was working in the call center. That is, you need to call the person, find out about their family’s needs and put all this information into an electronic application. Nothing interesting, right? However, there are also unusual, fascinating, sincere and funny stories here. ⠀ Well, the first thing after the victory I... oh, it turns out that it is difficult to answer this question right away... Of course, I will be happy, hug my family, friends and acquaintances and look forward to the return of those who made out Victory possible at such a high price! Oh, and one more thing: after the russian evil perishes and disappears from our motherland, Ukraine, I will go to the sea! Yes, I'll just gather my nearest and dearest and go to the sea because everyone needs a little rest... ⠀ We are grateful to everyone who joins our work, you are the best and do a very important job! And, of course, we thank those who support us so that we can continue to help people.

A father and two daughters aged 8 and 15 from Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, arrived in Zolotonosha on April 20. The family doesn’t have a mother because she died six years ago due to bilateral pneumonia. It happened when she was rescuing her daughters, who were suffering from seasonal flu at the time. From the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Victor (father) first transported the girls to Dnipro where they lived for two weeks with friends in the apartment but couldn’t sleep. After all, the constant air raid sirens scared the children, so the father was looking for other options. The family’s friends who had relatives here advised the family to move to Zolotonosha. So the family found shelter in our city. The father and his daughters were helped with utensils, bedding and clothes. The girls attend a pottery workshop, underwent physical rehabilitation courses and go in for sports. There are currently delays in government payments, and the father cannot leave his minor children and find work. Therefore, with the support from ChildFund Deutschland, the Shelter Ukraine initiative helps the family with foods which is extremely important for the family. Help Ukrainian civilians with the Shelter Ukraine: https://cutt.ly/0LRPMSF

Nikopol Charitable Foundation "New Life" has many years of experience in charity. For more than 12 years, the team has been helping and supporting people from vulnerable groups of the population who found themselves in difficult life circumstances. People in need have the opportunity to receive daily free meals in the foundation's canteen, humanitarian and charitable aid, legal, medical and social services, and spiritual and psychological support. They provide assistance not only to adults from crisis families but also to children from these families. For this purpose, they have a children's room, where they provide comprehensive assistance to children. Today, the fund also helps internally displaced people from places of active hostilities ⠀ As part of the Shelter Ukraine initiative, implemented in cooperation with Razom For Ukraine, the foundation's team and SILab Ukraine purchased food products and formed 182 product kits. The Foundation provided humanitarian aid to people from vulnerable categories of the population of Nikopol and the Nikopol district who suffered from the consequences of hostilities, among them are 47 women, 13 men and 32 children. The charitable funds were also used to help internally displaced persons in the majority of Kharkiv, Kherson and Donetsk regions, namely 80 women, 50 men and 63 children. ⠀ We managed to talk to Olesia and Yevhen, who left Kharkiv and received help from the Foundation «New Life». Unfortunately, the story they have shared is familiar to many Ukrainians. But we are very happy that this family and many others are safe now and can get the most necessary things thanks to the Shelter Ukraine initiative. ⠀ "We were bombed and bombed there, my mother was bombed, our apartment was bombed. Later, we came and, thank God, found my wounded father. He was not killed. After that, we decided to leave because we thought that soon we would die. My father has stayed there and he is still there. He said he would not go because he was old and wounded. Therefore, we came here since my grandfather lives in this place. What do we plan to do? To stay here. There was a moment when there were no shootings and we even considered various options of what to do. But then it started again and we decided to stay anyway. Thank you, it's so important that there are people who help. Truly, thank you” ⠀ Vasyl Dmytrovych also received help from the Foundation «New Life»: «We are waiting for one thing - to return home. And we will see what’s next. There is almost no village left, they ruined it. Right now, we live here in Nikopol, in a hostel. The conditions here are good. Humanitarian aid is provided, there is something to eat, and it's good. I think we will survive." To listen to other stories of Ukrainians affected by the war, watch the video. ⠀ Spread the information so that people remember Ukraine and Ukrainians. After all, we see less and less attention from the international media and we must have an impact on this. The more likes and dislikes such posts have, the more people read and remember them, and help us. Together to victory!

Rotary is an international voluntary club organization that brings together 1.2 million leaders who call themselves Rotarians and solve various problems, unite people and act to create lasting positive change. ⠀ For more than 115 years, they have been uniting cultures and connecting continents to work together for peace, fight illiteracy and poverty, provide clean water and eradicate the disease. Since April 2022, the organization has been directing its efforts on helping forcibly displaced people As part of the “Shelter Ukraine” initiative, we and “Rotary Club Kyiv International” equipped a shelter in the Poltava region. Beds, blankets, mattresses, pillows, a refrigerator, a stove, a microwave, a washing machine and dining tables were purchased with the help of charity funds. Now the equipped room will shelter 98 forcibly displaced Ukrainians from Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk regions! “For 40 days, we were staying in the cellar of our house and then decided to go. We thought we would stay here while the house stands, but then it became impossible. When it hits somewhere nearby, it's very difficult, therefore we decided to go. When we came here, to this place, we were greeted so well, people hugged us and gave us everything. We are so grateful to them. For the first three or four days, we were looking at these surroundings, we were so grateful and were constantly crying out of joy that we were here, and not under the bombs. We came here together: my husband, daughter, son-in-law and his mother. And also a dog and a cat. At first, we went without Zhuchok (our dog), but the next day my son-in-law and daughter went and took Zhuchok, despite everything. We were sorry to leave him. We are all alive and we never leave our nearest and dearest, not even Zhuchok. Here, in the shelter, we have everything divided. We are all busy with something. There is a group of those who clean here. We call them a "cleaning company" (laughs). And others work in the kitchen. We cook for everyone, so it takes almost a whole day. We are not roaming here (laughs)” says Tetiana, who came from the Kharkiv region and received help from the Shelter Ukraine in Poltava region.

🇺🇦Heartbreaking stories of our project "Shelter Ukraine" ⠀ Since February 24, many people have passed through the city of Zhytomyr. Some stayed, but most drove on. From the first days of the war, many public organizations have changed the main focus of their activities. ⠀ 💙💛 Therefore, the NGO Zhytomyr: Zroby Holosnishe (Zhytomyr: Make It Louder) very quickly decided to help those people who were looking for shelter. Those who sought help in an unfamiliar place often after a gruelling road, a road without a clear plan for the next few days. We had the opportunity to talk to Ms Liudmyla, head of the NGO Zhytomyr: Zroby Holosnishe (Zhytomyr: Make It Louder), a member of the local government, an entrepreneur in a peaceful life. ⠀ She told us that in a peaceful life, their public organization implemented cultural and inclusive projects. For the past five years, the organization has collaborated with the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation. A separate direction of the organization's work is to hold creative master classes for children with disabilities, for which they have specially created a space for creative work. ⠀ Liudmyla also shared that she is most proud of their festival "When the territory acquires identity". There used to be 8 ceramic factories in Zhytomyr but recently only one has been operating. The team wanted to restore the value of ceramics in the region because it is an important part of the region's identity and the inhabitants of the Zhytomyr region. It was planned that the festival would be all-Ukrainian, but in addition to representatives of Kharkiv, Dnipro, Poltava and other cities, the Netherlands, Poland and Lithuania were represented at the festival as well. There was also a related project "October in October", in which the team wanted to preserve the mosaic of the cinema "October" in Zhytomyr and other mosaic art in the city. ⠀ Ms Liudmyla believes that the "cultural front" is more important now than ever, it makes us self-aware. Culture is a soft force that changes people inside and out. After Bucha, Hostomel, and Kramatorsk, we must all become ambassadors of those Ukrainians who died. ⠀ 🔹 "Currently, the organization mainly takes care of people who are temporarily staying in Zhytomyr. We also focus on those who register as IDPs in the city. Firstly, we accommodate them, solve their basic issues, and then look for work. ⠀ We see that many people want to work. It is said that getting help is good, but it is important to do something on your own. And now we are trying to find a systemic solution with the businesses of the Zhytomyr region in order to employ those who remain with us on a permanent basis. For example, one of our entrepreneurs employed 40 people in the garment industry. ⠀ You know, we have a coffee shop that hasn’t been closed, not even for one day. We realized that this is a certain element of psychotherapy, a person drinks a cup of coffee and it connects them with a peaceful life, it helps to calm down. ⠀ As part of the Shelter Ukraine project and in partnership with VPLYV, NGO Zhytomyr: Zroby Holosnishe (Zhytomyr: Make It Louder) purchased bedding for the shelter (bedding, mattresses, bedspreads, pillows, cots), food and basic clothing (tracksuits, shoes, T-shirts, socks and underwear) for people who could not take their things from home. 🔹 Zoya from Hostomel in the Kyiv region received help from the NGO Zhytomyr: Zroby Holosnishe (Zhytomyr: Make It Louder). "I left town on the 3rd day of the war. I lived all my life in Hostomel, I worked there for more than 30 years. The airport is located next to our house, so the bombing began first thing in the morning on February 24. Russian landing party immediately landed and started havoc - they destroyed parts of the houses, smashed doors, and windows, looted, threatened and fired. On the first day, I hid with my family in our own basement. On the second day, we moved to a more reliable basement of the Bucha penal colony, namely to an isolation ward. In our yard, there were 15 burnt cars of those residents who tried to escape from danger. On the third day, when the shelling subsided, my daughter-in-law put me and her daughter, my granddaughter, in a car and we managed to leave this hell. We arrived in Zhytomyr and from there we moved to the village Hai of the Novohuyvin Territorial Community. Here we live in a country house together with my granddaughter-first-grader. Other relatives have moved to the Vinnytsia region but we keep in touch with them by phone. Every day we heat the stove, cook food, make homework. Especially happy moments are those when we manage to communicate with my sons and daughter-in-law, who serve in the Armed Forces. We are currently working on installing high-speed Internet for distance learning. We read books and draw. My granddaughter befriended a neighbour's boy, we spend a lot of time outdoors. Immigrants from Ivankivtsi, Kyiv region, also live nearby. They moved on March 5. They say that Kadyrovites had arrived there and allowed them to leave the shelling only if they told on camera that they had been waiting for the liberators who finally arrived. They set up their headquarters in the local church. ⠀ On such bad days, you begin to appreciate the minutes spent in the family circle, and communication with your nearest and dearest. My biggest dream is to return home, meet my family, hug them and talk a lot” (cries). Donate now. Help to provide shelters for Ukrainian civilians!

Today is the 55th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Together with Fundacja Valores, Тепле Місто and VPLYV Fund we continue to help internally displaced persons in Ukraine within the project "Shelter Ukraine". Our work in figures 👇🏽 Donate to help Ukrainians: https://shelterukraine.org/

In peaceful times, the charitable foundation «Light of Hope» helped HIV and AIDS-infected and drug-addicted people in Poltava. Subsequently, the organization has expanded its target audience and scope of services. As a result, the team is currently working with people who have been released from prisons, as well as people with tuberculosis or hepatitis C. In addition, the organization is working to combat domestic and gender-based violence. At the end of this year, the organization will turn 23 years old! 😎 🎯 Together with the organization's team, we helped provide help for people looking for a safe place away from the war. The initiative was supported by the Shelter Ukraineproject. We spoke with Anatolii Pavlenko, Deputy Executive Director of the charitable foundation «Light of Hope». ⠀ 🔹 «After February 24, we realized that we needed to reform our activities. That it is necessary to become a kind of backbone or centre for the reception of refugees. Initially, we welcomed people from Sumy and Kharkiv regions and also from the Chernihiv region, where fierce fighting was taking place. Thus, we have reformed our two social centres - the adaptation centre and the shelter. Our youth centre was also reformed to receive people from the Kharkiv region. Therefore, we have 4 working centres that provide assistance to 130 displaced persons.» ⠀ 💡 The charitable foundation «Light of Hope» provides internally displaced persons with: • a safe place for a temporary or longer stay • clothes • food products • personal hygiene products ⠀ The Foundation actively communicates and cooperates with local initiatives implemented by entrepreneurs, administrations and humanitarian centres. 🔹 «In the first days of martial law, our centres were not quite ready and equipped. After all, no one was preparing for the worst. So people used to come for a day or two and continued looking for a safer place to stay. As of today, these migrations have become less frequent. Of course, some people move, but it’s usually one or two persons/families staying for two days. Therefore, now we have 2 more vacant places in the youth centre and 2 more in another.» ⠀ Children in shelters are a special area of responsibility. Children react very differently to the sounds of sirens. They get scared and start crying. «Sirens sound in the city almost every day, and sometimes one can hear them several times a day. Of course, we are responsible for everyone, so we all move to the shelter, even if it's one o'clock at the night. We have a lot of children and pregnant women and it's really difficult for them. But I think you understand it, we can't do otherwise» 💙 💡 Therefore, given the situation in the city of Poltava, there are those who want to move to a safer place, either to the west of Ukraine or to the border with other countries. The charity team also helps them, as they sincerely understand the desire of people to take care of themselves and their families and find a safe temporary shelter for them. 5 such flights have already been made and covered more than 100 people (women, children and people of retirement age). ⠀ The departures of people from the centres are always poignant stories. After all, it often happens that the family moves, and the husband and father stay and go to the Armed Forces of Ukraine or the Territorial Defense. It is difficult to explain to children why they are moving, why they are still not at home, and why their father is forced to let them go abroad only with their mother or other close relatives 😔 🔹 «Displaced people regularly demonstrate a desire to help, to be useful. We involve them in the work. There are needs in cars. So those who have cars always help. Our centres are open 24 hours a day. So from time to time, there is a need for night shifts. Therefore we assign this task to our social worker and some refugees. They respond very well and do the job, they want to be useful and that's great. Someone who used to work with children can somehow arrange entertainment for them. In particular, the youth centre has opportunities to play board games and there are also computers. That's why there is a great opportunity to distract and engage with children.» ⠀ 👉🏼 Also important for the organization is the general mood and condition of the team. It is difficult to work with displaced persons physically, but also emotionally. Therefore, the head of the Light of Hope organization tries to visit all the shelters and communicate with the team every day to maintain their psychological state. «Frankly, we do not have the opportunity to give someone two days off, but we are trying to take shifts. For example, on the weekend, so that someone has the opportunity to distract themselves, relax and think about something else. Of course, it is difficult for everyone, but we try to do our job because it is very important»- Anatolii Pavlenko We are grateful to the team of the charitable foundation «Light of Hope» because their work is not just important, it is critical. Together, step by step, we are heading for victory. Such stories help to demonstrate the true inexhaustible strength of Ukrainians - the strength in the way we think and act. We will win! 💙💛 DONATE NOW TO PROVIDE HELP FOR PEOPLE IN UKRAINE!

🇺🇦 Shelter Ukraine in Zolotonosha ⠀ During wartime, Zolotonosha Center for Social Services, located in the Cherkasy region, has maintained the focus on the main activity - helping vulnerable groups. The difference is that the number of people in need has increased. Many elderly people were left alone, and their children left. Therefore, they need support with medicines, food and so on. The difficulty is that people, even those with money, cannot buy the necessary bandage materials and basic medicines 👀 ⠀ 🎯 With our help provided be project "Shelter Ukraine", the Center purchased food for the social canteen, hygiene products, medical and dressing materials for palliative patients and IDPs, and detergents for the laundry centre and hairdressing. ⠀ Nelina Liudmyla Tyborivna, the director of the Center, told us about the stories of the people who impressed her the most since many people from Kharkiv and the suburbs of Kyiv, where active hostilities are taking place, stay in Zolotonosha.We are now taking care of 520 people on a permanent basis, including 36 people with limited mobility. ⠀ 🔹 «I remember the family from Kharkiv very well. The grandmother came with her grandson, they were waiting for the boy's mother, who was on a business trip when the war began. The grandmother has diabetes and could not live in a school gym: she needed hot food and timely intake of insulin, which requires a refrigerator to store. So we housed them in our inpatient department. ⠀ The family has now reunited and is in Germany, where the mother has continued to work for an international company. And the grandmother volunteers for the Red Cross and collects the necessary humanitarian aid for Zolotonosha. She says that our centre has become a real refuge for her». ⠀ 🔹 «We were also very impressed by another family from Kharkiv, who arrived in a car with broken glass. There were 9 people in the car: 5 adults and 4 children. They say that they miraculously managed to reach us. They decided to stay with us. The whole community became very involved in their history: they found a house for temporary residence, and local craftsmen helped with car repairs. Everyone helps with clothes, and with food for a 7-month-old baby, and with other things». ⠀ 🔹 «One Zolotonosha family of pensioners sheltered two grandmothers from Irpen. One has Alzheimer's disease, the other is paralyzed. Employees of the centre bring them food every day, carry out anti-decubitus measures, etc». ⠀ The community is very united in this difficult time for the country: they help each other and people who have been forced to leave their homes. That is why such additional support for vulnerable groups is very important for them now. It supports our faith in peace and victory 💙💛 DONATE NOW

🇺🇦 Shelter Ukraine: assisting migrants in the Zhytomyr region ⠀ Since 2006, the NGO «Novohrad-Volynskyi Network of Educational Institutions» has been involved in the development of local educational institutions. They started with the replacement of windows and roofs, but then expanded into the environmental direction (revival of drinking water sources, energy efficiency in educational and cultural institutions), as well as organized many activities on healthy lifestyles, gender issues, HIV / AIDS prevention. With the beginning of the war in Ukraine, they changed their direction and started to support internally displaced persons: they organized humanitarian aid centres, distributed clothing, food kits and hygiene items to those who have lost their homes and now live in shelters of their city 💡 ⠀ 🎯 As part of the Shelter Ukraine project, the NGO «Novohrad-Volynskyi Network of Educational Institutions» purchased the essentials - food and hygiene products. ⠀ As of April 5, 2022, 1250 displaced persons were registered in the city. Most of them came from the northern parts of Kyiv and the Zhytomyr region. ⠀ 🔹 Anzhelika works as a deputy principal at a local school. Now there is a humanitarian aid centre. «The first week was difficult, we couldn't believe it was happening, we were even dizzy. I don't think I remember it well. But now we are all mobilized, involved in work and it helps to distract us. We know that we are doing everything we can to win and it helps to continue living. In addition, we have a military town, and most of the residents are from military families. My son is now in the east, while I am helping other people here, and I hope that someone will help him there if needed». ⠀ «I remember the first people who came to us, they were from Borodianka district, and the woman came here in her pyjamas. Her house burned down, and she had only the clothes she wore. And that is how she arrived. And now I am most horrified by the stories of people from the Podilsk district villages, which are located right on the border with Belarus. Now they have nowhere to return, their villages have been razed to the ground. But you know what is the worst? These people lived very poor, they did not have any expensive things, but they were also broken into their houses and robbed: occupants took irons, some small things. It's one thing to read about it in the news and it's another to hear it from people's stories». ⠀ 🔹 Ihor, a local businessman, set up a shelter on his own premises. Now he has 19 people from one village. When asked about the difficulties in the work, he said: «Difficulties? What are our difficulties? You should hear the stories of these people. We are fine. We can help and will do as much as possible. You better tell people that I'm finishing the renovation and will be able to accommodate even more people in another room. There is a shower and a toilet, they will be at home. The only bad thing is that the weather has worsened, and the arrived children can't play outside». ⠀ 🔹 Kateryna is a resident of Rahivka, Kyiv region. She and her fellow villagers decided to flee because their village was occupied, the Russian military went from house to house, took everything out, destroyed everything - it was very scary. They gathered after other residents had explored the road - they went through the woods, then they were taken away on horseback, then by car. Kateryna says that they are well in the shelter: there is food, and a place to sleep, Ihor gave the men a job at the sawmill, but her soul hurts a lot for the house and the cattle they left behind. Therefore, they hope to return in a couple of weeks. ⠀ We thank the team for their dedicated work, dealing with the war realities and helping Ukrainians. You prove that Ukrainians have a unique strength, which will definitely be one of the reasons for our victory! 🇺🇦🙏🏼 Help provide shelters for civilians in Ukraine!