Dear supporter,

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Thank you for wanting to help the people of Ukraine.

I would like to explain in a few personal words why we founded the association strongertogether eV.

Part of my family lives in western Ukraine and is currently not directly affected by acts of war. However, they do their best to support the Ukrainians, who have to get to safety from the eastern war zones. Since I have been to Ukraine regularly in recent years and have learned to love the country and the people, I would like to give you my personal impression of the situation on this page. It is not comprehensive, but can help you to assess the humanitarian drama of the current situation to some extent.

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How did I perceive the living situation of citizens in Ukraine before the war ?

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• Citizens of Ukraine are used to work hard for a living and need active income to support themselves. In contrast to Germany, there is hardly any social transfer at all. Babushka goes to gather mushrooms in autumn and sells them at the market or exchanges them for other goods. 

• Wages for workers are low and savings are usually invested directly in real estate and physical assets. Real estate assets are usually created over generations with a lot of personal contribution. A goat or other farm animals are also good investments to consider!

• An average pensioner can count on a pension of 80-200€ per month . That's hardly enough to live on, even if you own an apartment. A liter of milk costs about 20% less than in Germany.
  "Around 80 percent of pensioners in Ukraine drew the meager minimum pension of 81 euros in 2012. Those who cannot rely on the support of their families in old age live in abject poverty." Source Spiegel 2013

• Thus, the family takes care of the elderly and the children, while those able to work work and thereby provide for the weak.

• Social assistance, unemployment benefits or similar social transfers are very low or non-existent.

• The health system is free but not efficient. Medicines and complex treatments have to be paid for.

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The war robs many people of their livelihood :

The labor market almost collapsed during the war. Jobs are gone, apartments are bombed and for many, from one day to the next, all old-age provision are gone!  (No insurance pays for war damage in Ukraine). Values are lost forever. Schools are closed, hospitals focus on war wounded, normal daily life no longer takes possible. But the positive side is the courage and the confidence of the Ukrainians. They believe that you can defend freedom and stand up for each other without compromise!

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There is currently a wave of refugees from east to west Ukraine .

Some of the refugees have lost everything, but want to stay in Ukraine and rebuild their country as quickly as possible. Solidarity in western Ukraine is very high. What is possible is shared, even if it means personal sacrifices or limitations. This applies to living space, food, clothing and everyday necessities. As a rule, the refugees cannot and do not have to pay anything. The help is organized almost exclusively privately.  It is just heartbreaking to experience this solidarity!

 

This is where strongertogether comes in.

Resources in western Ukraine are scarce . What used to be enough for living now has to be distributed to twice or three times as many people. The people there mostly need everyday necessities. We at strongertogether support specific projects directly and permanently. We collect donations and buy the required products in bulk. This includes: clothing for children, hygiene items, baby food, medication, bandages and so on. We get project-related lists of the most urgent needs and organize the transport directly on site. In this way, we ensure that the donations actually go where they are needed. Since we have just founded the association, we ask you to trust us. As soon as the first projects are finished, we will publish pictures and protocols on the homepage. Thank you very much for your interest and support

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Personal assessment of the situation from personal experience by Thomas Hartmann, board of strongertogether eV  -05.2022-