Emergency Fund: Ukraine/Russia

On Feb 24th, the Kremlin ordered an invasion of Ukraine that destroyed whole parts of cities, killed hundreds of civilians and sent more than three million people abroad as refugees. Inside Russia, new laws cracking down on anti-war groups and general dissent led to hundreds of thousands of Russians fleeing the regime. 

This is stuff most of us have heard, and there’s been a huge mobilization on the part of different countries to support Ukraine’s refugees, soldiers and cities. 

Over the last ten years, I’ve lived in Ukrainian cities like Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa as well as spent most of that time in Russia. A number of my friends have fled the bombings in Ukraine, and some are still stuck in cities under siege. Probably the majority of my good friends in Saint Petersburg have fled the country, and since the sanctions have left their bank cards useless, many of them are without jobs or money. 

Which means that folks with working accounts and cards (yours truly) have had to step in and foot some bills and at this rate my savings account is going to hit rock bottom fairly quickly. So I’m doing a fundraiser to set up an emergency fund to get us through the next few months until we can get set up more sustainably. 

If I make half of the fundraising goal, that will provide housing and food for one household/group a few months (which, in Tbilisi where a number of us have to move, is getting really expensive), be able to pay for peoples’ flights in order to get here and cover other basic costs so that people can figure out what work prospects they have and start setting themselves up for the future. This would also include one month’s small salary so I can continue coordinating stuff while writing my thesis. 

If we make the whole sum, this will cover at least 2 households/groups, possibly over the summer and to help out with other unexpected costs (which are popping up and can be expensive). 

If you see that we’ve made our total but you’re still wanting to help, *PLEASE* do. We don’t know how long this is period of uncertainty is going to last for, and this will help us keep going for a bit longer. If you’re donating more to support me than my friends, then know that if we make over our sum then this will also help me get back to my thesis, get it done, do more workshops on conflict resolution and dialogue (both in our new community in Tbilisi as well as online for North American audiences), create more relevant resources (like this one: http://www.summerpax.com/ukraineconversations/en) and help get an anti-war activist hub in town up off the ground. 

The folks on the receiving end of these funds are my friends, former roommates and members of my collective. I’m anxious to get this started because these are people I care deeply about and they need help urgently. If we’re friends on Facebook, then you’ve likely seen pictures of these people dozens of times already.

If you’re from Canada, reach out to me at [email protected] if you want to make an Interac E-Transfer without fees. If you’re from elsewhere then please donate here and it’ll still get to us. Fundly is a little more obscure, but it was easier to set up than GoFundMe. The suggested donations are an idea of specific costs we have but you can make a donation of any amount when you click the button. 

A huge thank you to everyone who’s already donated. War sucks. But life is still grand.

[note: was originally going to ask a friend in the States to help transfer money to me from here (the joys of being abroad), but then couldn't change the Zip Code on the fundraiser and so it says I'm in New Orleans. Love this tech...]