Yesterday, on day 13 of the Russian invasion, a 6-year-old died of dehydration under the rubble of her Mariupol home.
The scale of human suffering in Ukrainian cities, besieged by Russian troops, is mind-boggling. Millions of people are trapped under constant fire, with Russian forces shooting even at the humanitarian corridors set up to evacuate civilians and bring in aid. In Mariupol, Kharkiv, Irpin, and all around the war zone, Ukrainians are stuck in bomb shelters and basements for days, often without access to water and food. This footage from Mariupol, published by New York Times, is hard to watch.
Even the cities that are “safe” for now are facing shortages of groceries, medical supplies, hygiene products, and other necessities due to disrupted supply chains. And it’s those who are most vulnerable that are hit the hardest: children, elderly and disabled people, pregnant women, hospital patients.
Vira Tkachenko, Chief Innovations and Technology Office at MacPaw, tweeting from Kyiv:
Seventh day of a war. I’m staying in Kyiv and have to move to shelter several times a day. Food and medicine supplies are limited. Civilians in suburbs are attacked with bombes several times a day. But our defense forces are real heros and we’ll win!
F*ck putin! Слава Україні 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/DtohHHRZo6
— Vera Tkachenko 🇺🇦 (@iVira) March 2, 2022
Since day one of this war, the MacPaw Development Foundation has been sourcing medical supplies and distributing them to hospitals, financing the production of protective gear for the Ukrainian Army and territorial defense units, supplying the military with cell phones and computers, and printing maps for patrols in Kyiv.
But the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine is bigger than us.
That’s why, for the first time in 6 years, the MacPaw Development Foundation will start accepting donations.
What is the MacPaw Development Foundation?
We created the MacPaw Development Foundation back in 2016 to implement a number of corporate social responsibility projects. It’s a non-profit organization that was previously financed exclusively by MacPaw and its founder Oleksandr Kosovan. Over the years, it has:
- purchased ventilators and oxygen supply systems for hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic
- contributed a new General Dynamics satellite antenna to the Ukrainian Vernadsky Research Station in the Antarctic
- helped NoWasteUkraine buy a new press for their recycling station in Kyiv
- acquired fire fighting equipment for the Kyiv Animal Rescue Group
- organized and funded dozens of other projects
The full report on projects completed in 2021 is available here on our blog.
What’s our plan?
Large humanitarian organizations like the Red Cross are currently doing everything in their power to help the civilian population in Ukraine. And while that effort is invaluable, it often takes a lot of time for the aid to actually reach people on the ground.
What we have done is we’ve coordinated several Ukrainian companies that can each cover a different stage of the process: transporting the aid from the border, storing large amounts of it, and delivering the right kind of aid to the right locations in Ukraine. We’ve also found suppliers in the EU that can quickly provide us with food, medications, medical equipment, and other necessary aid at scale. Our plan is to purchase and distribute 7 truckloads of aid every day. So the ability to finance this machine on a regular basis is key.
MacPaw CEO Oleksandr Kosovan on the Foundation’s humanitarian effort:
How you can help
While MacPaw will keep supporting the MacPaw Development Foundation, we are also raising funds to be able to provide aid at a much faster pace. You can become part of this effort by donating to the following account:
Account: UA333005280000026002455012201
Bank: OTP BANK JSC
USREOU 39842414
Head of the organization: Anna Andriivna Manukhina
Address: 100 Velyka Vasylkivska Str, Kyiv 03150, Kyiv, Ukraine
Sign of a non-profit institution according to the decision №1626504601269 from 05.12.2016
On behalf of all Ukrainians, thank you 🙏
Every dollar you donate will become a slice of bread for someone who’s hungry or a dose of antibiotic for someone who’s wounded. Your help is vital, and we can’t thank you enough for it. It’s times like these that test our ability to stay human and ease each other’s pain. And we won’t fail that test. Слава Україні!