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DEA large number of humanitarian organisations, charitable foundations, corporations that systematically help the army, and private individuals have already rallied around the “Ukrainian issue.”
Gazeta.UA writes about this with reference to the Ukrayinski Novyny interview with Marta Barandiy, the founder of Promote Ukraine (Belgium-based NGO).
“For 
the six months since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, a powerful international civil ecosystem of assistance to the Ukrainian army has formed. All key participants know each other either personally or have a common acquaintance. We all help each other,” Marta Barandiy emphasises.
Promote Ukraine’s activity focuses on informational efforts, which consist, in particular, of providing up-to-date analytical information about the situation in Ukraine to leading European politicians in the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, and the European Commission. Promote Ukraine also pays great attention to cooperation with the leading international media. It is thanks to the efforts of Promote Ukraine that reports about Ukraine in BBC News, the Brussels Times, Euronews, Al Jazeera, etc. became possible.
Marta Barandiy says that, despite its exclusively “informational” area of activity, Promote Ukraine simply could not stand aside after the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.
“It is obvious that we had an extensive network of influential contacts that could be used to collect humanitarian aid to further transfer it to the military. This is one of our advantages, which we began to use from the very first day of the Russian invasion. As a result, our purely informational functions were supplemented with the collection and distribution of humanitarian aid, primarily for the Ukrainian army,” the founder of Promote Ukraine says.
Currently, more than 120 volunteers are involved in the activities of Promote Ukraine, of which 40 work permanently. Some of them deal exclusively with army projects.
Most often, Promote Ukraine supplies Ukrainian service members with bulletproof vests, plates, load bearing vests, helmets, tactical glasses, active headphones, walkie-talkies, knee pads, tactical gloves, military uniforms, tactical boots, first-aid kits, etc. In June, we started purchasing pickup trucks and SUVs for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as ambulances for military hospitals.
In general, more than 30 Ukrainian military units have already received humanitarian aid from Promote Ukraine. The Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence, the Administration of State Guard of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, the special forces unit of the NABU, Azov Special Operations Regiment, the 93rd Separate Kholodnyi Yar Mechanised Brigade, the 28th Separate Knights of the First Winter Campaign Mechanised Brigade, the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade, the 36th Rear-Admiral Mykhailo Bilynsky Brigade Marine Infantry, the 72nd Black Zaporozhians Separate Mechanised Brigade, the 73rd Chief of Staff Antin Holovatyi Naval Centre of Special Operations, and the 57th Separate Kost Hordienko Motorised Infantry Brigade are among the recipients.
Despite such a seemingly significant “track record,” Barandiy clarifies: compared to large humanitarian organisations and specialised foundations that have long helped the army, the volumes of Promote Ukraine are modest.
“But we are learning how to attract funds, work with large donors, develop logistics, look for contractors, and build even more systematic processes for organising aid to the Ukrainian army,” Barandiy says.
Promote Ukraine’s founder notes that it seems at first glance that humanitarian aid keeps diminishing. People now donate less money, because all those who wanted to help Ukraine with funds have already transferred them and cannot do this constantly. In the first months, Promote Ukraine received donations mainly from large foundations, corporations, private companies, and individuals. Funds were raised through social networks and during charitable public events (for example, the Ukrainian picnic in Brussels). These fundraising models are no longer much effective.
“At 
the same time, I want to assure you that the international community is ready to continue financing Ukrainian independence and our fight against the aggressor. The world understands: Russia is evil and poses a threat to all civilised humanity.
There are resources to support Ukraine; just generally accepted models of access to them are changing. I assure you that the international community will continue to help Ukraine and the Ukrainian army. And we are currently working with international partners to obtain new tranches for humanitarian needs,” Barandiy assures.
Promote Ukraine’s founder believes that her organisation will soon be able to report on new projects for the Ukrainian army.
Source: Delo.ua
https://delo.ua/society/zasnovnicya-promote-ukraine-marta-barandii-u-sviti-vze-sformuvalasya-potuzna-ekosistema-dopomogi-ukrayinskii-armiyi-404356/
