Shehyni Humanitarian Aid Centre

The Story

The Shehyni Humanitarian Aid Centre was founded by a group of volunteers who joined their forces with a common goal: to provide heat to Ukrainians escaping from war, waiting in long lines at the border crossing. 

When we arrived at the Ukrainian side of the border crossing on March the 5th, the situation was dramatic. People were suffering from cold, distress, and medical conditions. 

Within only the first 10 hours of operations, we served over 300 liters of hot drinks, hosted around 40 refugees in a heated shelter, and provided medical help to a few dozens of people (a pregnant woman with contractions, an older man with a heart attack, people in poor physical and mental condition). 

Within the first month, we helped almost 100,000 people by providing food, drinks, shelter, and medical help. 

A one-off idea turned into an impactful, long-term initiative not limited to the local help in Shehyni. We adopted an inactive foundation to formalize our operations as a legal entity. Now we are acting as Fundacja My z Wami. 

Our Mission

Support Ukraine by providing food and accommodation to the regions affected by war, which are beyond the reach of large humanitarian organizations. 

Current projects

Maintain the Shehyni HAC

The situation at the border is not as dramatic as at the beginning of the war, although we want to maintain the Centre and keep readiness to support new waves of refugees. 

Create 2000 sleeping places

We support displaced people by turning schools and private buildings in Ukraine into shelters. We have a process to find existing places that can be adopted. Upon successful verification, we supply them with beds and essential equipment.

This goal is also essential in the context of the upcoming summer. In Poland, many hotel owners depend on the summer season, and they would have to stop providing accommodation to Ukrainians to run their businesses. We expect many refugees to be forced to return to Ukraine. 

Food supply

We created standardized boxes with a one-week, nutrient-rich food supply that we ship to bunkers and regions affected by war. 

Mobile Medical Unit

In cooperation with a local Voluntary Rescue Service, we want to turn our stationary medical unit in Shehyni into a mobile unit that can move to regions where medical help is needed.

Our Centre in numbers - data for the period March 5th - April 20th, 2022

- Over 150,000 people who received support in our Centre
- 100,000+ kg of food and supplies shipped to Ukraine
- 3000+ people stayed overnight in our Centre. Up to 100 people sleep every day in the first school we equipped.
- 150+ Volunteers have been working with us to help Ukraine.

What makes us unique?

- We focus on the most impactful initiatives.
- We choose cooperation over competition. We use existing infrastructure and work side by side with other organizations.
- We are extremely effective and financially savvy, with a minimal administrative cost.
- We work closely with people affected by war, so we perfectly understand their needs.

The purpose of this fundraiser:

We commit to delivering on our promise to supply the affected regions with food and create 2000 sleeping places in Ukraine. We need funding to maintain the Shehyni Centre, two transportation hubs located in Poland and Ukraine, maintain two of our trucks, hire a small team of coordinators, and cover operational expenses. We will spend any surplus on food supply to Ukraine. 

Thank you for supporting us!