With winter just around the corner and daily bombardments in various Ukrainian cities, the Rasom foundation in Haarlem is still busy collecting things. With their fundraising campaign, they mainly focus on smaller areas, where large organizations such as the Red Cross hardly come. Thanks to their local network, in both Haarlem and Ukraine, the items end up in exactly the right places.
Her fundraiser from last February was going well out of hand. Anna Roelofs-Ivanchenko now collects much more targeted items with her Rasom foundation. Thanks to short lines with the places where the things go, she also knows exactly what is needed at that moment. “We get weekly updates that we can respond to. The most important items to collect are medicines, braces and thermal underwear.”
New promotion
Last week the foundation started a ‘Fundraiser 2.0’. In reality, they have never stopped transporting goods to Ukraine, but the campaign is mainly aimed at making donations once again boost to give. “We noticed that the donations gradually decreased. That makes sense, because people get used to the situation,” explains Anna.
“And in recent months we have spent more time integrating Ukrainians who have come here. Now that they have a more stable life, we will put more emphasis on collection.” The items mainly go to hospitals and the fire service in Ukraine.
“That’s exactly what Putin wants, everyone to be despondent because winter is coming”
According to Anna, another reason for the declining donations is that we also feel what the war is doing to the economy here. Here everything becomes more expensive, but in Ukraine it is much worse. “The people there have a very hard time. That is exactly what Putin wants, that everyone becomes despondent because winter is coming. Every day large cities are bombed and the infrastructure is destroyed,” Anna says frustrated.
“Electricity is also a problem, in Kiev you have to turn on the lights as little as possible and the heating doesn’t work,” she continues. “I have no idea how people are going to get through the winter there without help.”
Mykolaiv, Kherson and Kharkov
The loads end up in places where the Red Cross does not go, especially the smaller regions. The focus is now mainly on places in Ukraine where members of the Rasom team come from. “Our manager Valeria is from Mykolaiv and they are really screaming for help there. There is practically no water available due to a water shortage and there are daily bombings. That is why medication or braces, if you have broken an arm or a leg, are also so important .” Anna herself is from Kherson and dance teacher Nastya is from Kharkov, two other places where Rasom sends a lot of stuff.
Donate stuff?
In addition to medicines and thermal clothing, many more items are needed. Do you want to donate stuff yourself? Then view the donate page from Rasom to see what it takes. The collection point at 5 Gierstraat is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Meanwhile, Rasom also offers Ukrainians in the Netherlands a lot of help, in the form of courses, workshops and simply offering a safe harbor. “In the first two months, 4,000 people from all over the country came here. We gave them all a fresh set of clothes and then we started to focus more on psychological support.”
Central point
That combination turns out to be a success. Anna and her team have quickly created a central point for the Ukrainian community, which the municipality, the Red Cross, the GGD and the JGZ also gratefully use.
There are also various workshops for children and Dutch language guidance. “Those classes are bizarrely busy. It was not that bad at first, because people didn’t know how long they would stay here,” explains Anna. “Now they know they will have to find a job here because they can’t go back and they want to learn the language. Most don’t want to stay, but they have nowhere to go back to now.”
Watch below a documentary that reporter Kimberly Luske made for NH Nieuws in April about the origin of Rasom:
“If you want to help people, stand up. Rasom is an example that you can” – NH Nieuws / Kimberley Luske