Ali (to the left) takes part in unloading emergency shelter kits for distribution to people affected by shelling in Odesa in June 2023 ©UNHCR/Victoria Andrievska
The full-fledged escalation of the war in February 2022 in Ukraine plunged 36-year-old Ali into a state of desperation. Having previously endured war in Afghanistan, Ali comprehended the far-reaching implications of large-scale military actions on the lives of civilians.
“24 years ago, my parents took me and my brother and sister and moved from Afghanistan, fleeing war and persecution. Back then, I was 12 years old,” Ali recalls.
Ukraine became a new homeland for his family. “We are more concerned and worried about the situation in Ukraine than in Afghanistan, and we are trying to help as much as we can,” says Ali.
Immediately after the start of the war, Ali and his wife, the owners of a small clothing store in Odesa, began to engage in charity work and donate clothes to internally displaced persons (IDPs). With each passing day, an increasing number of individuals sought their assistance. Ali used his proficiency in multiple languages to aid refugees and asylum seekers who had earlier fled to Ukraine to seek protection through his volunteer work with the civil society organization, The Tenth of April. Subsequently, Ali was invited by The Tenth of April to join their team as a social worker and logistician.
©UNHCR/Victoria Andrievska
©UNHCR/Victoria Andrievska
©UNHCR/Victoria Andrievska
©UNHCR/Victoria Andrievska
©UNHCR/Victoria Andrievska
“At such a moment, when the country desperately needs help, it is necessary to get involved, to do something good. Now I work a lot with people who suffer from shelling in Odeska oblast,” says Ali. “We distribute humanitarian aid, which is extremely necessary for the affected people. What is happening in the villages near the frontline is simply terrible. Everything is broken there; houses are destroyed; people barely survive there.”
Ali has now been working for the humanitarian organization The Tenth of April for more than a year. Despite the physically and psychologically demanding nature of the work, he has never once regretted choosing such a job.
“Gratitude in people’s eyes inspires me the most; because of it, I forget about tiredness,” says Ali. “A girl, an IDP from a family from Kherson, once gave me a yellow-blue ribbon, which she made herself, and it touched me very much; such moments are unforgettable.”
In the photo, Ali stands next to a girl from Kherson, who came to the office of The Tenth of April to receive humanitarian aid. ©Tenth of April
Ali is also inspired by the work of the team and leaders of The Tenth of April. “Staff members of this organization supported my family when we were asylum seekers in Ukraine, I saw how committed they were to their work. Today, among my colleagues are internally displaced people from Kherson, from Mykolaiv. I see that they put their heart into everything they do, and this inspires me to work as best as possible and do more,” says Ali.
Family support is also essential. “My wife and 15-year-old son do not want to leave Ukraine and are trying to help however they can. Recently, during the distribution of construction materials among the residents of the house that was damaged during the shelling in Odesa, my son went to the distribution and helped unload, and he was with me until night,” says Ali, projecting pride for his son.
Ali is carrying one of the boxes with UNHCR’s humanitarian items. ©Tenth of April/Yuliia Marchenko
According to the Ukraine Humanitarian Needs Assessment (HNA) and the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Ukraine for 2023, approximately 18 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2023. Humanitarian needs are particularly acute for IDPs who have been displaced for a long time; for those who were already vulnerable and have remained in frontline areas during the war, especially in the east and south; and for those who have returned to areas that still lack basic services and other support for reintegration, mainly in the north and south.
UNHCR cooperates with 29 partner organizations, such as The Tenth of April, to help people in need throughout Ukraine.
With the generous support of our donors, UNHCR aims to help 3.6 million people in Ukraine in 2023, supporting and complementing the actions of the Ukrainian authorities, providing more than 4.6 million services in protection, emergency shelter, housing, cash, and in-kind assistance. So far, 1.88 million have received such assistance and services from UNHCR and its partners since January 2023.
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