In the midst of the war in Ukraine, which has sparked an unprecedented wave of refugees in Europe, the SOLIDARNA Foundation has established the Solidarity with Ukraine Fund to help refugees who have found safety in the Republic of Croatia.
The number of people who have left their homes to flee the war and save the lives of their children is in the millions. Tens of thousands of refugees arrive daily on the borders with neighbouring Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova. Faced with an uncertain future, they leave behind loved ones, jobs and property.
On March 14, 2022, there were over 6,158 Ukrainian refugees in Croatia, most of them women and children, as many as 88%, and an exponential increase is expected in the coming weeks and months. Instructed by previous experiences of refugee crisis, SOLIDARNA intends to welcome and support refugees.
The SOLIDARNA Foundation through the Solidarity with Ukraine Fund will monitor the dynamics of the crisis and respond to the needs of refugees and their families in the Republic of Croatia. In coordination with civil society organizations (national & international) and public bodies actively working on the reception, assistance and support of refugees, with a focus on women and children, the Fund’s activities are organized into two parts (1) short-term assistance and support and (2) long-term insurance support for refugees everyday life in the Republic of Croatia, in a way that responds as quickly and efficiently to the needs of people in relation to their context and that all available resources – knowledge, equipment, money, services – are better connected, used, and enriched.
The goal of the “Solidarity with Ukraine” Fund is to financially support projects/programs/initiatives which support and assist displaced persons from Ukraine on an individual and collective level. The public call for applications is permanently open, and the Fund Council will evaluate the received applications on a biweekly basis and propose projects/programs/initiatives for financing to the SOLIDARNA Foundation Board. The results of the selection procedure will be publicly announced within 3 working days from the decision of the Foundation Board.
All interested persons and organisations/initiatives can apply by filling out the questionnaire.
Part of the collected funds of the “Solidarity with Ukraine” Fund is also intended for direct financial support for refugees from Ukraine settled in Croatia. If you have needs that you cannot meet from your own or other sources, fill out the questionnaire and we will contact you within 30 days with the decision of the SOLIDARNA Foundation Board. The questionnaire is in Ukrainian and available here:
The program is managed by the Funds Council and consists of 5 members appointed by the SOLIDARNA Foundation Board for a term of 2 years, for the purpose of deciding on the distribution of financial support from the program, additional fundraising, and public communications of the program. The work of the Council, including the criteria and the procedure for allocating funds, will be regulated by a special Rulebook on the work of the Foundation Council for the Solidarity with Ukraine Fund.
Council Members are: Ivan Blažević, Tajana Tadić, Entoni Šeperić, Zlata Paštar, Aida Bagić
In 1992, when I was a two-year-old child, I fled the war in Croatia with my brother and parents. We found safety in Germany but our lives were marked by uncertainty, fear for our neighbours, learning a new language, coping with situations that would never have occurred to us in kindergarten and school. I remember my brother sitting at a school desk without knowing a word of German. The community we came to helped us a lot, from finding a job to administrative matters. SOLIDARNA is always ready to respond to crisis we continue to face, and I believe that we have proven this for both the pandemic and the earthquakes that have befallen us. I believe that we all have the same goal – peace and a dignified life for every person. It is up to us to make that happen. Only together can we achieve this. Thank you for following and supporting the work of SOLIDARNA. We managed to achieve as much as we did thanks to support of all of you who share our values and believe in our mission.
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