At the Burnie Rotary club meeting on 4th April, Past President John Glen explained how Rotary is helping in Ukraine and adjoining countries.
- There are 62 Rotary clubs in Ukraine, but with only around 1,100 members in all.
- So far, most donations around the world have been sent to Rotary International’s Disaster Response Fund and 31 grants have been made totalling US$900,000.
- To-date, 3.5 million Ukrainians have been displaced into neighbouring countries.
- In Poland, Rotary is providing transport, accommodation, food and medical assistance.
- In the Czech Republic, Rotary is providing sleeping bags, medicine, food, defibrillators and oxygen.
- Similar efforts are being made via Rotary clubs in France, Austria, Hungary, Romania and Moldovia.
- Germany is setting up a national taskforce to co-ordinate relief efforts.
In Australia, John said, the smart approach is to rely on RAWCS (Rotary Australia World Community Service), which has set up a fund – “Ukrainian Humanitarian Relief Aid” for donations. The current goal is to raise AU$5 million. RAWCS is working in conjunction with the Australian Federation of Ukrainian organisations and Caritas Ukraine. This is the largest tax-deductible effort in Australia aiding Ukraine.
John urged our club, plus other Australians and Australian companies to donate into said fund. Go to <https://rotarydistrict9675.org/Stories/rawcs-ukraine-appeal>
