Ukraine Update

UKRAINE UPDATE

March 15, 2022. 

Greetings:
Action-PSJ  work continues IN Ukraine.
Our primary focus continues to be assisting elderly Jewish Ukrainians. Bravely, all of our network of volunteer coordinators have stayed in Ukraine. They face unimaginable challenges to ensure their own and their family's well-being while living through a war. They still take time to check-in and care for our elders. While they remain in Ukraine, so do we; committed to supporting them and the elders they serve. 

 Your generosity and support help us do this work. 

THE DIFFICULT JOURNEY OF HUMANITARIAN AID

The key to Action-PSJ’s success is our network of coordinators and volunteers  across Ukraine. They know the people Action-PSJ serves and they know how we can best serve them.

For instance, right now, we are working on creating 50 professional-grade EMT kits which we’ve been told are desperately needed in Kkarkov and Kyiv. Creating the kits, is the easy part. Getting them to where they are needed however is never as easy as getting something in point A delivered to point B.

This will give you some idea of the complicated journey an Action-PSJ shipment takes. Keep in mind this is a very fluid situation with logistical procedures changing almost daily. 

Boston to New Jersey
Packages that originate in Boston are trucked from here to a MEEST (our shipping company) warehouse in New Jersey.
 
New Jersey to Poland
Humanitarian aid is shipped to one of three Polish cities with suitable airports and ample warehouse space: Warsaw, Lublin, and Rzeszów. 
 
Poland to Lviv in Western Ukraine
The supplies are then trucked across the border to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.
 
Awaiting Approval from Customs
All supplies must pass through Ukrainian customs in Lviv and then trucked to the MEEST warehouse in Lviv. 
 
 Under normal circumstances sending a parcel by air could take 6-10 days. But now, there are tremendous backlogs getting to the warehouses and then through customs. There can be a 10-day wait just to get through customs.

The Status of Recent Action -PSJ Shipments
 
15 large packages of non-perishable food, medicine, personal hygiene, and emergency supplies, (over 1000lbs) that Action-PSJ  shipped out on Feb. 28th were flown to Poland on March 4th and are now in Lviv waiting to go through customs. 
 
A March 5th shipment of 27 boxes of diapers, formula, and other supplies collected and shipped through a team of volunteers is still in transit to Lviv where they will await customs approval. 
 
To avoid a growing backlog of shipments, a box of satellite phones, were driven directly to the New Jersey warehouse. Doing so, saved days of waiting. The shipment was on the plane Monday and will land in Poland today. It could still take 10-12 days to clear customs in Lviv and get to the distribution warehouse. 
 
A volunteer driver and security guard will accompany the satellite phone delivery to the Menorah Center in Dnipro. 

These phones are essential to keeping the communication lines open. The phones will be distributed to the leaders of all the Boston-Dnipro partnerships.  
 
A volunteer network of drivers and couriers has emerged throughout Ukraine to help make sure essential shipments, as well as food and medicine, can be brought to those who need them. They risk their life, taking back roads to avoid Russian blockades. 
 
It’s all subject to change
Again, depending on when the boxes arrive, what the situation and needs are in Ukraine, and the availability of a volunteer driver and guard these plans will likely change. 

In Partnership::
A complicated endeavor like this can only be successful through the work of many. Partners who helped identify the needs, connect to the volunteer driver network, secure the many donations of materials and money needed to obtain the supplies, the packers,  shleppers, and those who will distribute the aid in Ukraine are the work of many. 

All total this is a 30k shipment of supplies –all with direct donations of goods and money.
 
THANKS to Combined Jewish Philanthropy, The Jewish Community of Dnipro, Remember US.org, Jewish Family & Children Services, and especially their Visiting Moms program, all of the Boston -Dnipro programs, all the volunteers and supporters both in the US and Ukraine and all of you!
 
While the shipping and delivery of supplies face never-ending complications, one thing is certain: these supplies can and do make a difference between life and death. 
 
This essential aid can only be made possible with your support.            Please continue to donate to Action-PSJ.

On behalf of Action-PSJ, and our many partners across the Ukraine, thank you.

You Can Help
    Donate and encourage your family and friends to donate- we need to be prepared for any and all needs both now and in the long term. 

  Shop for Action-PSJ's emergency supply list. As needs emerge we add items. We have been asked to create and send activity kits for children and the elderly. This would make a great family or community project.  

  Reach out to your legislators. See this campaign from the Jewish Federation and be sure to mention the need for an immediate cease-fire and SAFE Humanitarian Aid corridors. Continue to advocate that the home-bound elderly are included in evacuation plans. 

 Sponsor your own soup bag-making or activity kit event.Contact the office for more information. 

Thank you. Your support is so needed and so deeply appreciated.

​​​​​​​Please share these updates with your family, friends, and colleagues.

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