UPDATE JULY 2023: This fundraiser is now closed. Thank you for the donations! There's a new, ongoing one here.

Many women in Ukraine are raising children and caring for elders alone while their husbands and sons are in the army. Those in rural areas have limited access to jobs while humanitarian aid seldom reaches them, and there are few educational opportunities for girls.

From 23 March to 6 April I’ll be travelling with the Freefilmers NGO in East and South Ukraine, delivering aid and visiting communities affected by the war. I’ll be listening to women's stories and talking to them about their needs and survival strategies - grassroots organisers, medics, artists, fighters, local politicians and more. Many of them are internally displaced.

I’m a professional writer and editor, and I’ll be blogging my travels when I have access to the internet and time to process what I’ve seen. All proceeds from this fundraiser will go to the communities I visit.

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Photo: Mayor of Arkhangelske village Olena Kompanets (left) and inspector of the Centre for Providing of Administrative Services of Vysokopillia district (of Kherson region) Olena Lelak (right), in front of their office building destroyed by Russian troops. Arkhangelske, Kherson Region, Ukraine. 6 November, 2022. By Yulia Serdyukova.