This initiative is a partnership between Comic Relief US, Enkel Foundation, GlobalGiving, UBS Optimus Foundation, and GFC.
Since Russia’s war on Ukraine began in February 2022, GFC has responded by providing ongoing emergency support to more than 70 community-based organizations. However, as the war continues, children and their families also need long-term support, including safe shelters and community spaces, psychosocial services, and access to education.
This initiative supports grassroots organizations committed to delivering long-term support in their communities, with an emphasis on:
GFC is providing these organizations with flexible funding and capacity development support so they can assist children and young people in a variety of settings, including schools, community centers, and temporary shelters.
Litera is a Ukrainian-led organization in western Hungary that provides educational and therapeutic activities for Ukrainian refugee children and youth as well as psychological and legal assistance for Ukrainian refugee parents.
Informal Education Center “Diversity” offers educational resources and programs, provides training to teachers and other professionals, and creates opportunities for members of minority groups to share their cultures and traditions. Since the 2022 Russian war on Ukraine began, Informal Education Center “Diversity” has provided humanitarian support and psychosocial assistance to Ukrainian refugees in Moldova. The organization’s youth center serves as a hub for Ukrainian youth and families to receive assistance and participate in cultural, psychosocial, and educational programs.
The Institute for Rural Initiatives (IRI) promotes socioeconomic initiatives in rural communities in Moldova, with a focus on disadvantaged and marginalized populations. Since the Russian war on Ukraine began in February 2022, IRI has worked with over ten NGOs in different communities of Moldova to establish MEET centers – places where Ukrainian refugee families, mainly women and children, can receive legal, humanitarian, and psychosocial assistance. MEET centers also offer after-school programs for Ukrainian children.
Kocham Dębniki was founded after the Russian invasion of Ukraine to create a friendly environment for integrating Ukrainian refugees into the Dębniki neighborhood in Kraków. The organization hosts a neighborhood center that offers a community shop, integration and language activities, childcare support, and other services, and it also provides direct humanitarian support to shelters within Ukraine that assist women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
Let’s Help Together Foundation was created to support Ukrainian refugees and offers long-term psychological assistance, in Ukrainian, to refugees living in Kraków and the surrounding areas. The organization provides individual, child-centered therapy to children as well as individual and group therapy to adolescents and adults impacted by the war in Ukraine.
Martynka was created after the 2022 Russian invasion forced millions of Ukrainian refugees to flee to Poland. The organization’s programs include a trafficking prevention program at the Poland-Ukraine border and a program assisting survivors of gender-based violence with legal, medical, and psychological support.
Mudita is a women-led association that supports families that have fled from the war in Ukraine and are living with disabilities. Mudita operates a hotline as well as centers in two cities that provide physical and occupational therapy; psychosocial support; and social services support.
Bilkis is a grassroots initiative that supports women and LGBTQ+ people. The organization provides humanitarian support, cultural events, and summer camps for internally displaced children and children from eastern Ukraine, near the front lines of the war. Bilkis also operates a social enterprise called Space of Things where women and children can find clothing and supplies.
Dream Workshop helps young people with intellectual disabilities and mental health conditions and their families while also teaching inclusion. The organization offers nonformal education and household skills programs, as well as art therapy, and is developing supported housing. Since the 2022 war began, Dream Workshop has opened two new residential and learning centers for internally displaced young people from eastern Ukraine.
Feminist Workshop provides assistance to women and children by supporting activists and operating shelters for internally displaced and elderly people. The organization also offers life and digital skills workshops and career development support for women.
In addition, Fight for Right supports internally displaced families with disabilities through a winterization program called Warmth, which supplies warm clothes and construction materials.
Fulcrum UA provides humanitarian assistance and psychosocial support, including by helping mothers and children weather the winter months. The organization also supports LGBTQ+ youth by advocating for their rights and by training psychologists and other specialists to be more inclusive.
Gender Zed is a human rights organization focusing on the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. The organization’s work includes supporting gender equality, preventing the spread of HIV, and advocating for the law to change regarding civil partnerships. Additionally, Gender Zed also provides humanitarian assistance to LGBTQ+ young people living near the front lines of the war or internally displaced to western and central Ukraine.
Innovation Action provides support to internally displaced women and their children through community building and psychosocial support as well as by responding to their humanitarian needs.
Kiev Children and Youth Support Center serves orphans with special education needs. The organization supports children between the ages of 6 to 16 and offers sessions with healthcare professionals, including speech therapists.
LGBT Association LIGA supports LGBTQ+ youth by creating safe spaces and humanitarian hubs, advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, and providing training and internships for LGBTQ+ activists. Due to the proximity of the organization’s home city of Mykolaiv to the war’s front lines, LGBT Association LIGA relocated west to Odesa, where it operates a humanitarian hub for LGBTQ+ young people. Besides food, medicine, and clothing, the hub offers psychological counseling and a peer support groups for teens.
LGBT Union You Are Not Alone provides support to LGBTQ+ youth through community building, safe spaces, psychosocial support, skills workshops, and humanitarian aid.
AMI-East provides support to children and young people living with disabilities, including legal, educational, and medical assistance. The organization helps children and youth with disabilities who are in especially challenging circumstances, including those forced to flee their homes.
NGO Education 360 promotes the right to a quality education for every child. The organization’s priorities include informal education projects, psychological support and training for educators, and summer camps for the children of internally displaced people and fallen military personnel.
Founded by orphanage graduates, Orphan’s Future promotes the safety and wellbeing of orphaned children and youth. The organization runs an information center, supports family-style homes for orphans, and offers life skills training and summer camps to orphans and orphanage graduates.
Platform TU promotes human rights and youth empowerment through art and culture. The organization has created an independent artistic space that enables innovative ideas, critical thinking, and creative self-expression. Due to the war, the organization’s staff relocated from their home city of Mariupol to Dnipro and Kyiv. Platform TU also helped many teens from Mariupol to relocate to other cities, and the organization still provides support to these young people through online counseling sessions and peer support groups that focus on the use of the arts as a way to overcome trauma.
Pravo Vibora provides support for children and youth with disabilities, including physical rehabilitation for children and educational and employment support for youth. The organization also conducts outreach in the community to overcome negative stereotypes about people with disabilities. Since the war began in February 2022, Pravo Vibora’s home city of Kharkiv has been near the front lines of the conflict. During the early days of the war, Pravo Vibora helped dozens of children with disabilities to find shelter in or away from Kharkiv. The organization continues to serve disabled children and youth all over eastern Ukraine, especially those who fled from communities in southeastern Ukraine that are still occupied by Russian forces.
ServeNow Ukraine provides summer and after-school activities, informal education, and life skills workshops to children and promotes volunteerism among Ukrainian young people. Since the Russian war on Ukraine began in 2022, ServeNow Ukraine has supported internally displaced families with further relocation, along with shelter, food, and supplies.The organization still offers humanitarian support to families in the Kyiv region and has focused on helping families rebuild their homes and lives in the Kyiv suburb of Irpin, which was ransacked by the Russian army early in the war.
See with Your Heart provides comprehensive support to children, teens, and young individuals with disabilities to foster their socialization and personal growth. Additionally, the organization offers parenting programs to educate caregivers on the most effective ways to engage with children who have developmental disabilities. Since the February 2022 Russian war on Ukraine began, See with Your Heart has also been actively assisting families with children with disabilities to relocate and find material and psychosocial support.
Ukrainian Womanity advocates for the rights and opportunities of women and children by providing trainings and informal education. The organization also assists families that include children with disabilities by providing specialists and a secure space. Ukrainian Womanity’s home city of Zaporizhzhia has been near the front lines since the February 2022 Russian war on Ukraine began. In response, the organization has developed programs for teens that include peer-to-peer training on landmine awareness and safety.
Voice of Romni promotes the voices of Roma women. The organization seeks to dismantle prejudice through education and offers psychosocial support and life and employment skills to young Roma women. Since the war began in February 2022, Voice of Romni has also supported Roma youth and families to relocate from eastern and southern Ukraine to western Ukraine. The organization now has programs in both its home city of Zaporizhzhia and the southwestern Ukrainian city of Uzhorod.
Volunteers: Adults-Children focuses on child protection by supporting family-style orphanages, running parental programs, and offering psychosocial support and social work along with case management.
We Are Close Crisis Center is a support center for women with children who have experienced domestic abuse. The center provides shelter and meets the basic needs of the women, including psychological support and help in building a career, in addition to providing education for their children. The Russian war on Ukraine has resulted in large numbers of internally displaced women and youth, increasing the need for the organization’s shelter.
Youth Organization STAN is a human rights organization that promotes youth activism and the integration of internally displaced people. The organization also prioritizes reducing the stigma attached to mental health issues.
Zaporuka supports children who have been diagnosed with cancer or have other serious medical conditions, as well as their families. The organization’s projects include the Dacha Center, where families can stay for free while their children are receiving treatment. Since the Russian war on Ukraine began, Zaporuka has focused on evacuating children living with cancer from areas occupied by Russian forces and providing those kids and their families with housing, medicine, and support for surgery.
Header photo: Young people on an outdoor trip organized by Orphans’ Future. © Orphans’ Future.
Global Fund for Children (GFC) UK Trust, created in 2006, is a UK registered charity (UK charity number 1119544). We work to generate vital income, create new fundraising opportunities, and raise awareness of the invaluable work of GFC’s grassroots grantees. Our aim is to extend the reach of GFC in the United Kingdom, Europe, and beyond.
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