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Stand with Ukraine
4 positive practical ways to support and help
By: Susan Dugdale
It is 2022.* To wage war is mind-bogglingly astounding. What has ever been solved by declaring war?
War begets war begets war begets war. An eye for an eye: an escalating chain reaction of grievances and retaliations.
Of recent times: Syria, Yemen, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and, now Ukraine.
It's madness and we need to do what we can to break the cycle.
*It's now January 2025. The war in Ukraine is ongoing. In the Middle East hostilities between Israel and Palestine escalated in unprecedented ways. Gaza is now rubble, and its people scattered. Elsewhere more armed struggles continue unabated. 2024 has been alarmingly tumultuous. For more see this report from www.crisisgroup.org: 10 conflicts to watch in 2025
What's on this page
- The answer is not blowin' in the wind
- A lesson my Mother taught me
- Four positive ways to stand with Ukraine
The answer is not blowin' in the wind
Years ago Bob Dylan famously asked:
“...how
many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes,
and how many deaths will it take 'til he knows
That too many
people have died?”
And even more famously the chorus line says, "the answer is blowin’ in the wind."
We can make a difference
Really? Must we accept the overwhelming fatalism of that? Maybe there's another way.
Perhaps a more compassionate and responsible answer is much closer to home.
It
is for each of us to do the things we can to make a positive
difference, while, and when we can. However small they might be.
We
do not need to feel powerless, to be rendered helpless and relegated to the
sidelines to watch the calculated destruction of lives. We can make a
difference.
A lesson my Mother taught me
My mother had a saying that became a kind of personal mantra. She scrawled it on the back of envelopes which she then stuck in places where she’d have to see and read it again, and again. There was one on the fridge door, another on the dashboard of her car and one on the mirror in her bathroom: "Let there be peace, and let it begin with me."
So, what can we realistically do? We can't commit to helping everyone in every country who needs it. But we could commit to do what we can, when we can. After all your two cents worth of whatever you can offer, added to mine, added to hers, added to his, added to theirs... soon grows. We just need to start. Make a choice of country and organization and begin.
Photos of frightened children in trains waving goodbye to their fathers in Kyiv brought that phrase of my Mother's back. I thought about my son as a little boy and what it might feel like to be watching a train carry him away.
And then I did some research to find ways I could help. The result was writing this page with its list of four positive ways to stand with Ukraine, and I made a donation.
If you've been looking for something you could do, perhaps you'll find it here.
Four positive ways to stand with Ukraine
1. Keep informed
Read reputable news sources to find out more about what is happening.
Ukraine based news sites
2. Share your support
Share your support on any social media channel you regularly use. Get yourself a Ukrainian avatar.
The image site Pixabay has many based on the Ukraine flag that are free to download and use. That’s where I got the flag and other images from to make the ones I’ve used in this post.
Click to get a Ukrainian image from Pixabay
3. Speak up
Speak up in your work place and community groups. Share what you are doing and why.
Perhaps there are services that could offered? Products? Or donations made.
Give the people you know the opportunity to contribute by raising awareness.
4. Donate
If you’re able to, make a donation. Every little helps.
The two organizations below have been carefully vetted. You can rest assured your money will be used to help the Ukrainian people, either in their own country or as they seek refuge in other countries.
- World Central Kitchen (WCK)
https://wck.org
WCK provides cooked meals on the ground to communities impacted by natural disasters or humanitarian crises. Their mission is simple: “When people are hungry, send in cooks. Not tomorrow, today.”
In support of refugees escaping the violence, WCK began serving hot, nourishing meals in Poland within a day of the initial attack and are now set up at eight border crossings. They are also looking into the possibility of delivering meals each day to families on the Ukrainian side of the border, waiting in line across the eight entry points.
The link below takes you directly to their donation page:
https://donate.wck.org/give/236738/#!/donation/checkout
Their donation process is straightforward. First select whether it’s a one-time or monthly donation, then choose the amount and fill in your personal data. Payment options are Google Pay, PayPal, credit card or bank transfer. - Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH)
https://www.pah.org.pl/en/ukraine/
Polish Humanitarian Action is a smaller charity based in Poland. They provide food and hygiene items along with other essentials, both in Poland and in Ukraine. They set up a permanent mission in Ukraine in 2015 and have been providing support there ever since.
Here’s the link to donate directly to their Ukraine campaign:
https://www.pah.org.pl/en/donate/?form=ukraine
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