Israeli NGO sends aid to refugees pouring out of Ukraine
SmartAID sends hygiene supplies and sets up Wi-Fi hot spots to enable communication for aid workers and refugees in Poland as the war with Russia escalates.
Cars queuing at the Ukrainian-Polish border. Photo by Bumble Dee/Shutterstock
Published February 24, 2022
With deaths and displacements already being reported in Ukraine following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military invasion of the Eastern European country, Israeli humanitarian aid group SmartAID is stepping in to help.
“Tomorrow, SmartAID is flying in pallets of emergency relief supplies from Florida,” SmartAID Founding Director Shachar Zahavi told ISRAEL21c today.
These supplies include hygiene kits that were requested by a group of Polish physicians working on the ground in the affected areas, Zahavi says.
Because SmartAID’s primary focus is bringing technological solutions to crisis areas across the world, the organization also is working with local corporate partners to set up Wi-Fi hot spots providing Internet access for international relief workers and first responders, as well as for refugees.
The US government estimates between 1 million and 5 million people could be rendered homeless by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
“In recent days, already at least 100,000 people, including about 40,000 children, have been displaced from Eastern Ukraine, joining an estimated 854,000 people from across the Ukraine already displaced since the start of the conflict in 2014,” Zahavi explains.
Many of the people fleeing Ukraine have found shelter in Poland, where SmartAID has mobilized Israelis living in that country to volunteer with aid agencies assisting refugees.
