Amurtel, a world-wide relief organization with offices in Waitsfield, has been supporting refugees fleeing from Ukraine. Amurtel teams are in the town of Siret, on the Romanian border and have been working with a large team of NGOs in helping the refugees find safety, food and shelter after their journey.
Joni Zweig, Warren, president of Amurtel, shares one of the more recent updates they have received from the field:
“We have just received word 280 children with disabilities will soon be crossing the border. Our psychologists are mobilizing to meet them when they arrive in Siret. With your support, they will do everything they can to help these kids feel safe and begin the process of settling in.
Over 5,000 people are crossing the border a day, many of them mothers with small children. The lack of food and water as they flee the fighting in Ukraine is making the journey that much more harrowing. Perhaps due to our extensive background in disaster relief, AMURT/EL has been asked to fill the role of central command for the team of NGOs, and our team of psychologists trained to identify and address trauma in those arriving is working through the night to welcome the exhausted and terrorized families.
The situation on the ground is changing rapidly as the assaults on civilian targets in Ukraine intensifies. The European Union has identified Siret as one of the major corridors for sending in supplies with 10 large box trucks arriving every hour. Unloading and properly storing plasma, food and medical supplies, along with caring for the constant stream of arriving refugees, has made the logistics overwhelming.
The large group of NGOs in the field is working as a coordinated team, each bringing something desperately needed. Preparing food for the thousands of people arriving, setting up Child Friendly Spaces to embrace and shelter the children and helping families find more long-term housing in other parts of the EU -- all this is happening simultaneously."
"Thank you all for your overwhelming and generous support. The situation is heartbreaking and looks like this nightmare will continue for some time. Amurtel is in this for the long haul, and we will do what we can to ease the hardship for our Ukrainian neighbors. For more information, visit our website www.amurtel.org. To make a tax-deductible donation and be part of this effort you can send a check to Amurtel, P. O. Box 232, Warren, VT 05674, donate through Paypal on our website, or follow the link on our website to our GoFundMe page," Zweig said.
