Season's Greetings!
"For everything there is a season, and a time..."
At Mriya Aid we keep many individuals at the forefront of our aid, our support, and our efforts:
defenders and soldiers on the Ukrainian front lines and in the rear;
military and civilian deminers training in mine action standards and working to clear Ukrainian land of mines, unexploded munitions and ordnance;
volunteers supporting the defenders and builders of Ukraine and democracy;
our partners from NGOs and other contexts in Ukraine and across the world; and
advocates for Ukraine across the globe.
Not a day goes by where we don’t speak to, coordinate with, deliver aid and support through direct interactions and personal connections with the individuals and organizations we work with for Ukrainian Victory.
At the same time, we’re keenly aware that, in the latter part of 2023, we’ve not been able to connect with our donors and our supporters as much as we’d have liked to.
In the past few months, our work has evolved into a focus on two main lines of effort in which we’ve developed a solid competency in fundraising, procuring, and delivering:
Shipments of Medical and Humanitarian Aid, most being in-kind contributions with shipment costs financed by donations made through our website. Financial donations were also spent on purchasing the best quality Combat Application Tourniquets (CAT Gen 7) and demining & defence support equipment.
Training and certification to International Mines Action Standards (IMAS) of Ukrainian men & women from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, the Special State Transport Services, the Emergency State Services of Ukraine, and others working to clear and render safe Ukrainian land. The $400,000 spent on this program so far, including Train the Trainer courses, is thanks to our donors & our online fundraiser. Those funds, combined with 1000s of our volunteer hours have resulted in 85 Ukrainians trained to IMAS Level 3, the highest explosive ordnance disposal training available for best practices and the most impactful results in the field.
There is much to communicate to you, our donors and supporters, and there is much to thank you for! In the coming weeks and months, we hope to catch up on our communications to keep you updated and engaged with our work for and in Ukraine.
Today we wish you and your loved ones a joyful holiday season, a happy Christmas, Веселих Cвят - courage, strength, good health, good tidings and strength to keep up the fight for Ukraine, democratic values, humanity, and Victory over autocracy, expansionism, disinformation, deceit and all of the losses and horrors of war.
With your support and encouragement, we’ll keep fighting the good fight and helping those brave defenders of everything we collectively hold dear and need to protect.
“Боріться - поборете!” Тарас Шевченко
“Fight – and you shall prevail!” Taras Shevchenko
