More than USD 1,500,000 for demining: UNITED24' Step by Step platform's fundraiser closed
More than USD 1,500,000 for demining: UNITED24' Step by Step platform's fundraiser closed.
Funds from donors and partners will help demine sites affected by the russian occupation and in need of explosive ordnance disposal. The resources will help make safe again a school, a kindergarten and a park in the village of Hrakovo in Kharkiv region, a hospital in Vysokopillia in Kherson region, and Fenevytske and Makariv forestry in Kyiv region.
"Humanitarian demining is much more than just clearing areas. It is about saving lives, about the possibility of safe return to the de-occupied territories, about fields that will produce crops again. The successful completion of the fundraiser is another proof that the world continues to support Ukraine. I am sincerely grateful to each and every one of you who joined in. Who donated and spread the word. Only by joining forces can we accelerate demining and bring Ukraine closer to a safe future. Step by step," said Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy of Ukraine.
UNITED24 launched the Step by Step fundraiser jointly with the Ministry of Economy, the national humanitarian demining platform Demine Ukraine and the Humanitarian Demining Centre.
In a little over a month, more than USD 1,500,000 was raised. UNITED24 ambassador Liev Schreiber and Gogol Bordello frontman Eugene Hütz, Help Ukraine Now, as well as other UNITED24 donors from over 120 countries joined the important initiative. The funds raised will help demine the Vysokopillia hospital in Kherson region, Fenevytske and Makarivske forestries in Kyiv region, as well as a school, kindergarten, recreation park and playgrounds in the village of Hrakovo in Chuhuiv district, Kharkiv region. Each of these facilities has been affected by the russian occupation and needs to be cleared of explosive devices left behind by the occupiers. For example, 90% of the territory of Hrakovo village was mined: 178 mine petals were found in one of the households during demining.
Overall, Ukraine is the most heavily mined country in the world: over 138,000 km² of its territory is potentially contaminated. This poses a threat to people living in these areas and limits economic and social activity. To date, more than 35,000 km² of land has been returned to use. This includes land cleared under the Government's programme to compensate for the cost of demining agricultural land.