VIDEOOn foot, with trucks and in cars, many hundreds of Ukrainians cross the border with Poland every day at the town of Medyka, not far from the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. Some stumble through the many heavy things they carry with them, others sad because they had to leave their pet behind, for example.
Sebastian Quekel
Latest update:
21:11
Meanwhile, a delegation from House of Animals is putting its best foot forward in Medyka, where a second truck arrived today with food for animals in Ukraine. The Dutch animal welfare organization focuses specifically on the animals that remain behind in Ukraine, where, according to them, ‘animal lovers risk their lives to supply the shelters (animal shelters ed.)’.
Founder Karin Soeters reports on all the efforts in a live stream on Facebook. She takes the viewer on a bird’s-eye view through a kind of mini village that seems to have risen from the ground at lightning speed. “The situation here is severe, the human suffering immense.”
Soeters walks around visibly impressed, is occasionally speechless. “You realize that these are people who have had to leave their homes and pets behind. People like you and me. The stories are horrible.”
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Dark times
From the mini-village near Medyka, vans move into the beleaguered country to take the food for the animals to animal shelters. The emergency aid is purchased from donations through House of Animals and is partly sponsored. “We are here to make sure everything arrives in order. Every day, these people drive a convoy of vans across the Ukrainian border to supply shelters and evacuate dogs and cats where necessary. A huge thank you to all donors who life saving enable action.”
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The food for the animals is bought from donation money and is partly donated by sponsors. According to House of Animals, there is a growing group of people who want to help. “In these dark times, it is heartwarming to see how people are committed to the animals in Ukraine,” said Soeters. “Our crisis team has managed to build a fantastic network of animal protectionists in Ukraine and together we are doing everything we can to help the animals.”
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Cooperation
House of Animals works closely with Ukrainian partner organizations that have storage facilities in Lviv (Ukraine) and in Przemysl, near the border in Poland. From there, the food is taken to animal shelters in Ukraine.
At the beginning of this month, House of Animals started an aid campaign for Sirius animal shelter in the capital Kiev, the largest shelter for dogs and cats in Ukraine. Founder Alexandra Mezinova helps more than 3100 dogs and 218 cats in harsh conditions. She has no electricity, hardly any food and no drinking water. House of Animals has now collected more than 330,000 euros. In addition, the organization has already supplied 2000 kilos of feed to Chernihiv Refugees, SOS Animal Shelter and a shelter in Boodiants.
The organization continues to provide financial support to shelters that request it.
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