Dear friends/дорогие друзья/Дорогі друзі:

Hi, we are Alex and Michael, members of Hand in Hand Ukraine Response. As individuals who have lived and worked in the region, it is heartbreaking that while we are fortunate to go to sleep safely every night, the nightmare reality for children and families all across Ukraine today is all too real.

As of the 11th of March, 2.5m people have fled Ukraine. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees predicts that the total could well surpass 4 million people.

In response, Ukraine's European neighbours, who are all too familiar with the realities of Russian aggression and occupation, have been opening their borders to welcome desperate Ukrainians. Hundreds of volunteers are stepping up to act, provide transport, shelter, basic needs, legal support, translation, etc.

What we are doing

With our background and networks, we will be assisting specifically Ukrainians currently located in Moldova, whose needs cannot be met by the resources disposable to local aid organisations there. We will be providing emergency relocation support and financial assistance to individuals so they can finally reach a safe roof either within Moldova or beyond.

In addition, as we have as part of our team UK immigration expertise authorised to practise, we will be providing local aid organisations in Moldova with training and resources for UK UKR visa schemes, so those on the ground can deliver basic information for those schemes, and a referral channel to connect complex cases with pro bono advice and representation.

Why Moldova

Moldova is a small European country that sits on the Western border of Ukraine. It is one of the poorest countries in Europe, with a GDP per capita of £3,500. Nevertheless, it has accepted more than 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, a figure that already represents 3.8% of its total population, and the number is only increasing rapidly. Moldova has neither the physical, human, or financial infrastructure enjoyed by its European neighbours to support its response to the current crisis.

Our personal ties and networks in Moldova make us uniquely positioned to provide immediate support and enact positive, meaningful change for individuals now.

How we will use your donations

The funds will be used to fund immediate emergency travel, accommodation and settlement costs for Ukrainian individuals and families who are currently in Moldova, who have been referred to us because their needs cannot be supported by the limited resources available to local aid organisations. A very small proportion will go to expand our outreach channels.

How we will handle your donations

Hand in Hand is registered as a Community Interest Company (CIC) in the UK, registration number 13973513. We chose CIC as our corporate entity as registering a charity with the Charity Commission in the UK is a lengthy process, and the people we are helping do not have time to wait. If we registered as a charity, opening a charity bank account alone would take 4-8 weeks minimum, during which time your donations will need to be transferred to a personal bank account, which is far from ideal.

By law, the assets of a CIC are "locked". This means that the assets cannot be sold under market value and can only be transferred to another CIC in case of wounding up. A CIC like ours, which is limited by guarantee, also cannot issue dividends. Further, we will not be paying our directors any compensation, as they will be working on a fully voluntary basis. All these measures ensure that funds are effectively locked within the organisation to only further its charitable aims.

We will be openly publishing our accounts, and we will post regular updates on our work.

Thank you for your support!