Background

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, millions of people have been struggling with loss, trauma, and precarious living conditions. Internally Displaced Persons and populations near the front line are particularly vulnerable: women, children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and members of ethnic and religious minorities. Many are separated from their networks and face enormous daily challenges.

OlamAid has been active in Ukraine since January 15, 2022, providing comprehensive humanitarian aid in cooperation with the Central Welfare Board of Jews in Germany (ZWST) and local partners. Through trusted relationships with Jewish communities in Germany and Europe, OlamAid was quickly able to gain access to affected individuals. This facilitated the direct implementation of aid deliveries, psychosocial support, and resilience building measures. The collaboration with local partner organizations ensured that local specialists were included in the project team early on, whose knowledge and proximity to the communities are crucial for adapting measures to the evolving conflict situation.

The Project

At the beginning of 2025, OlamAid successfully concluded the previous year's emergency relief measures – including psychosocial support for IDPs in Dnipro, Lviv, and Vinnytsia, and the provision of generators and hygiene kits for resilience centers in eastern Ukraine – and subsequently further developed the project.

The previous concept of Emergency Safe Spaces – shelters that offer security in the event of bomb alerts – has been evolved into the so-called Community Hives. These new spaces are not only safe havens but are designed to host local events, psychosocial support, and other community-based activities. They are established together with local partners from the respective communities and, after targeted capacity building, are fully transferred into their responsibility. The Community Hives thus serve as long-term places for self-organization, protection, and mutual support – an approach that specifically includes marginalized and vulnerable groups. This enables OlamAid to transition from short-term emergency relief to sustainable support – for strong, self-determined communities in Ukraine.

Core Activities 2025

1. Establishing Safe Community Spaces In close cooperation with local partners from the communities themselves, existing spaces are being transformed into safe Community Hives. These protected locations foster exchange, participation, and shared learning, while also offering space for psychosocial counseling, group activities, and training sessions.
2. Capacity Building and Local Ownership OlamAid strengthens specialists from the communities through training – including resilience, self-care, trauma-sensitive work, and the protection of vulnerable groups. This enables them to effectively support those affected within their communities and to independently continue operating the Community Hives as safe spaces in the long term.

The project is implemented in collaboration with the Central Welfare Board of Jews in Germany (ZWST) and our local partners and is funded by Aktion Deutschland Hilft (ADH).

Our local partners in 2025: Voice of Romni, Ukrainian Students Leagues, Master Kyiv, Avalyst, Arch4UA and District 1.