VinziWerke in Graz

Ukraine aid: “Hardship cases are not decreasing”

Yuliia Malchevska coordinates VinziWerke's aid to Ukraine

(Bild: Alexander Danner)

Around 13,000 people who had to flee Ukraine are currently living in Styria. Almost half of them are on basic welfare support. Nevertheless, there are cases of hardship that need additional help. VinziWerke in Graz wants to take care of them with a new project. It is coordinated by a woman who fled Ukraine herself.

"I know what it means to get help in a difficult situation," says Yuliia Malchevska. When the war broke out in her Ukrainian homeland, she spent some time with her children in a Russian occupation zone. "We were only able to escape after weeks. And if I hadn't received help on the way, I would never have arrived in Styria. And I was only able to settle here because I received support," she says.

Private aid campaign finds a home at VinziWerke
What helped her to arrive here? "I learned German. And I got active," she says. She provided aid privately for two years: "I organized a total of 60 tons of relief supplies and sent them to Ukraine," she says. Now she has joined VinziWerke with her initiative and is the project manager for the "VinziHerz" campaign.

Yuliia Malchevska with one of the children from Mariupol who are helped by the "VinziHerz" campaign

(Bild: VinziWerke)

"The aim is to help in cases of hardship that are not covered by state aid in Ukraine," says Amrita Böker, Head of VinziWerke. 13,140 people displaced from Ukraine are currently registered in Styria, 5716 of whom receive basic welfare benefits.

But in some cases of hardship, this is not enough. Böker gives an example: "A Ukrainian professor was able to flee here with her three children. She receives basic care, but one of the children has a disability and needs special treatment that is not covered by state aid," she says.

Help for children from Mariupol: Yuliia Malchevska in the shelter for families from Mariupol near Lviv.

(Bild: VinziWerke)

And "VinziHerz" is also helping on the ground in Ukraine: "We support around 300 families from the Mariupol region who have found refuge near Lviv and need food, clothing, medicine and toys," explains Malchevska. A home and a theater for children with disabilities also receive financial support: "The longer the war lasts, the more people in Ukraine need to feel that they are being seen so that they don't lose heart," says Malchevska.

Her position as coordinator of "VinziHerz" is funded by the City of Graz and the AMS for one year: "But in order to be able to help, we need donations from Styrians," she asks for support.

All information at: www.vinzi.at/vinziherz
Donation account: AT88 2081 5000 4552 3271