Kharkiv Civilian Relief Efforts

Ukraine is currently under siege by the Russian dictatorship.

We all watch the news, we understand the situation. We are wondering how we can help.

Sanctions have stopped the Russian economy and rallied the Russian politicians. Cyber security enthusiasts are helping combat misinformation and propaganda. Many Russians are standing up against their leader. Many countries are donating resources and opening up borders for refugees. The Ukrainian leadership and military are doing the best they can to stand up for democracy. But what about the mothers, the grandmothers, and the children? What are we doing for them?

Right now the citizens of Kharkiv that are hiding in bomb shelters, basements, food cellars while their husbands are defending their country need our help. Banks are closed, grocery stores are running out of food. Many want to leave and are trying to find a way.

For me personally, this hits especially close to home because my very close family is in Kharkiv right now. My dad, sister, and all of their families are there. My girlfriend's family is there, as well as many of our friends.

What have I done so far:

• I made sure to arrange financials and cars for the people who stepped up, to form a group to drive out of Kharkiv towards the West and leave the country. Five families.
• I prepared financials and made my house available in order to buy tickets and fly these people out into Canada and Germany.
• I have bought 3 plane tickets from Poland to Norway, for a mother and her 2 children. They were lucky to escape Kharkiv before it got hit, and are at the border already. They have friends to welcome them in Norway and needed help getting there.
• I built a network of volunteers on the internet, and three groups of boots on the ground volunteers in Kharkiv, who coordinate acquisition and distribution of essential supplies, doctor transportation, as well as social media marketing and fund gathering.
• I flew to Kharkiv, Ukraine to help our volunteer groups personally.

What others are doing:

• Capable men in Ukraine are transporting much needed resources to hospitals, shelters, and families in need.
• My relatives in Canada and I are coordinating efforts from Ottawa.
• My relatives in Ukraine are coordinating efforts from Kharkiv.
• Internet volunteers are coordinating social media outreach and donation gathering through Discord: https://forms.gle/5E4xnjEw9QFnMRAo9
• Past and present colleagues and friends are helping with this campaign, credibility, and donations.

What we are facing now:

• More people need help.
• There are more cars and families that will need fuel, water, food.
• There are people driving cars and arranging transport for essential products and personnel.
• There are people who are collecting donations, resources, fuel, food, water. They are purchasing medical supplies, and delivering them directly to the needy in Kharkiv.
• There are people who report news and current events directly from Kharkiv.
• Tera Oborona and ZSU keep asking for drones, helmets, safety vests, gloves, tactical glasses.

Funds collected here will help us:

• Provide fuel, food, essential resources for the stranded people in Kharkiv trying to make due.
• Provide ZSU and Tera Oborona with safety equipment.
• Every day is a new challenge. We are distributing funds to the most impactful volunteer groups and their leaders, as well as find new ways to be helpful. Every expense we make is documented.

So far we:

• Disbursed over $21,000 to Kharkiv directly.
• Helped 5 families of civilians escape Kharkiv into safety.
• Donated 3 drones to Tera Oborona Kharkiv
• Build 3 volunteer groups in Kharkiv whom we support and coordinate with. We arranged for mini busses and other forms of transportation for all of them, so essential goods can be distributed with maximum efficiency.
• We are in the process of distributing funds as they come. Donations are subject to 1-7 business days delay, before they can be sent over. This is due to PayPal and Stripe verification Process. We are working with PayPal and our partners in Ukraine in order to reduce this even further.
• Our fund disbursement efficiency is around 97%. The only overhead is on bank wires, everything else is pure volunteer work.

After you read this, please consider:

• Donate to this campaign. Any dollar helps.
• Share this information among your social circle. Maybe they can help?
• Stay alert about the information you consume. These are times of war, there is a lot of fake data out there.
• Educate your friends and colleagues about the current situation in Ukraine. Help combat misinformation.
• Join our Discord to help, or observe (link above)

Lastly, we have expanded our donation links to include the official blockchain addresses below:

• Bitcoin: 37PKUYs74SCVWfTanms47rgUaxHjydzLxo
• Dogecoin: DKqwbegvwqVi9LtCtdXJA2ABMmNjthjQs4
• Etherium: 0x592Cc76bB7a0eC1BCd86A1Dc24251f60bd3BcED3
• Litecoin: MFPXBFkp1xTF7LuYmd9MWU75ae6YZUSx4a
• Recurring payments via CC: https://buy.stripe.com/aEUbJSaqY3xx0XCeUU

Remember this. This is history. Thank you.

Kirka, Katata, and Team

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I moved out of Ukraine at the age of 9, lived in Israel until the age of 16, and then ended up in Ottawa. When I finally found the means and the ability to do so, I started travelling back to Ukraine to reunite with my loved ones. I spent a bit over a month with my family there in 2019, over 2 months in 2020, and around 5 months in 2021 - helping grandma and dad. Lastly, at the end of 2021 I was able to bring my girlfriend over to Canada. She is here with me now, has been for 4 month. She is studying English downtown, and is going to apply for a PR. She likes it here.