Ukraine Crisis
Your support can provide vital shelter, food, clean water and protection to vulnerable families fleeing conflict.
Give now to help Caritas staff and partners on the ground deliver urgently needed humanitarian aid.
Over 5.9 million people have been forced to flee their homes - and 90 per cent are women and children
8 million more are internally displaced and in urgent need of humanitarian support
Millions of Ukrainians are now living through air raids and attacks, as the conflict continues. Vulnerable families are in need of shelter, food, clean water, hygiene support, medical attention and protection.
Caritas Ukraine and other Caritas agencies in neighbouring countries continue to provide urgent support to displaced people. With your support, Caritas Ukraine has assisted more than 800,000 people since the conflict began.
Support people facing disaster and fleeing violence today.
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Our partners are on the ground in times of crisis, providing:
Food & clean water
Emergency shelters
Medical support
Psychosocial support
Illyena's story
According to the UN, more than 4 million Ukrainians have now fled to neighbouring countries, including Poland, Moldova and Romania.
When the first bombs fell on the city of Kharkiv in north-east Ukraine, 23-year-old Ilyena, her husband Andrei and their 9-month-old son Bagdan fled to a crowded metro station. They were hoping to take a train to Lviv in western Ukraine, but it was impossible to get a seat.
Desperate to leave the city, they decided to drive to the border, but they had left their car in front of their house - six metro stations away. It was dark, public transport was not running and there was a curfew imposed across the city. So, they had to walk along the tracks of the underground metro tunnel for hours until they reached their home.
It took them six days to drive to the Polish border and they had to find a new place to sleep every night. After they crossed the border, volunteers from Caritas Poland helped Illyena access a sheltered room for mothers and children, where she can access the necessities she needs to care for Bagdan.
Ilyena and her baby are now safe, but they had to say goodbye to Andrej, who had to stay behind as most Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 cannot leave the country.
Before the war, I worked as the manager of projects for children, and now I am responsible for provision of humanitarian assistance for Internally Displaced People. In these conditions, I really feel how much we help and how strong we have become.
The funds raised through this appeal will be used to provide immediate and longer-term humanitarian assistance to communities affected by the conflict in Ukraine, and to displaced Ukrainians in neighbouring countries. Caritas Australia will use these donations through our partners in Ukraine and neighbouring countries where possible.
Where this is not possible, the funds will be used to provide immediate and longer-term humanitarian assistance to communities affected by crises across the world. If any excess funds remain after a crisis, or if there are changes in circumstances beyond our control that limit our ability to use the funds, they are kept in the Emergency Response Appeal so that we can respond to ongoing needs and future crises across all our regions.