Is sending lorry loads of clothes etc to Ukraine the right thing to do? Or is money to charities working on the ground always better?

[YforWanky]

Just curious, I know a lot of people are queueing with donations of clothes and toys and nappies etc and I understand the wish to help. But I remember seeing an article about donations to a disaster zone and how they'd been sent useless stuff like inappropriate clothing for the season, and out of date silicone breast implants and it basically created a massive problem. But then I can see how people fleeing with nothing will of course need clothing and bedding!

So as title really - what is the right way to support the people of Ukraine?

www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/irish-red-cross-appeals-to-public-not-to-send-goods-for-donation-to-ukraine-1.4814652

Give money, if you can't give money donate your goods to a charity shop for them to sell so that they can send the money to their in country partners.

What is the point of sending second hand stuff half way across Europe to Poland, a country with a developed economy, manufacturing industry and supply chain where the same goods can be supplied locally.

In fact hopefully they might just give the refugees some money or vouchers to go and buy the things they need themselves or use it to pay for accommodation.

Also, if you donate to a UK registered charity, it can claim gift aid on your donation and that will increase it by 25%.

@Clymene

JK Rowling's Lumos charity is raising money to support orphans:

www.wearelumos.org/

100% of donations go to supporting their work - she pays for the overheads.

@Clymene thank you for reminding me of Lumos- have just donated

One of my best friends was an aid worker for over 20yrs in the Balkans, Afghanistan & Iraq, and he said his heart used to sink into his boots every time a lorry rolled in with 'donations'. The amount of time it takes to go through everything, check it, decide what is usable, then pack it up again takes hours of time away from what they could & should be doing.

To put it bluntly, who do you think have the knowledge, expertise, and supply chains already in place? Longstanding international charities set up for this very purpose, or 200 unco-ordinated donations to a village hall in Cheshire? I do understand the unbearable need to help in some way, but the best thing to do is donate money directly, or give your donation of clothes etc. to a charity shop. Don't take resources away from the front line.

Money and then direct support to anybody who is actually here. So for example somebody asked on my local group (we're not in the UK before someone says they are a chancer!) For bedding as they are going to put up friends who are fleeing. They've then had offers of clothes etc as well. That makes sense because they can take what they need and you're not spending loads of fuel and effort getting it somewhere.

Expert NGOs.
Understand why people feel driven to help but small groups springing up, however well -intentioned, are unlikely to reach the refugees. The goods they send are subject to customs checks, apart from any logistical problems: how do volunteer drivers propose bypassing the Russian army and entering cities practically under siege?
Red Cross, MsF, Save the Children etc., far more targeted and efficient.

@meditrina

Money.

Then the organisations can spend it in whatever the current priorities are.

Exception - when there is a specific appeal for particular items, that organisations want and are able to receive, handle and distribute.

You are correct. However, it makes me sad that it's income you have paid tax on and the items bought will create profit for various organisations.

MSF, UNICEF, World Food Programme, UNHCR, Oxfam.

These agencies are the professionals: all have good track records and independent evaluations which are (mostly) positive on their work.

They have the supply chains, the logistics capacity, the market knowledge and they do the local needs assessments. Plus liaise with the parties (to the conflict) to negotiate humanitarian access.

Truly. Money is what’s needed here.

I don't think either option is wrong. Sensible donations of clothes etc could be useful. Not everybody who wants to contribute has enough spare cash to make a donation.

*not necessarily clothes is what I meant to say.

But there are other items that could come in useful.

Send money to reputable charities like UNICEF or Red Cross. People sending over things can cause problems in some cases, apparently huge amounts of sanitary items were wasted at Calais as there was nowhere to store the huge quantities that were sent and it just wastes volunteer time trying to pick through it all and try and sort and store it.

You are correct. However, it makes me sad that it's income you have paid tax on and the items bought will create profit for various organisations.

Gift Aid it - then the charity gets the tax back. And what is wrong with supplier organisations making a profit - will it not help businesses and economies nearer to the conflict? Floods of used goods from richer countries can depress local economies.

You can also donate to the Ukrainian army ukraine.ua/news/donate-to-the-nbu-fund/

Money, and Gift Aid.

Possible exception is if there is a local shortage of a specific item which is efficient to transport, eg batteries or painkillers which are being requested. But you’re unlikely to have much of those hanging around, so rather than buy them at UK prices to ship over it’s still better to donate money and let a charity organise a bulk purchase at cost price.

I work in the emergency planning sector. Well meaning, but ultimately fruitless, donations of goods are commonly referred to as the second crisis to deal with. We’ve seen it in the UK with floods and Grenfell.

This article captures the issues amp.theguardian.com/society/2017/sep/25/disaster-aid-cash-not-clothing-relief-hurricane-harvey.

The effort that it takes to sort and appropriately (& costly) dispose of during and afterwards takes staff away from frontline efforts.

Far better to sell things on Facebook / eBay etc and donate the money, than donate the actual things. Imagine all the countries across Europe gathering up their donations, border countries taking evacuees are going to be overwhelmed.

@Wafflesnsniffles

Locally to me Ukranians and Polish people are leading a collection for items (they are specifically asking for no clothing) and hope to be taking hgv trucks full of stuff over there on Friday.

Same here, we have collection points at the Town Hall and surrounding village halls or peoples houses. They're asking for things like plasters, nappies, soap, toothbrushes, baby food.

@Iluvfriends

To the person that made the comment about grubby second hand clothes, i have 4 bags of clothes that are in no way grubby and some still have labels on them.

Should i just put them in the bin.

Sell them and donate the money or take them to a charity shop, or a womens shelter. Have you been holding on to them waiting for a humanitarian crisis to donate them to?

Having read this thread, seems like the sensible thing is to send money. If money isn't an option, then donate what you can to reputable charities. Many don't just take clothes, it's accessories, bedding, curtains, ornaments, books, puzzles, games, childrens toys. There are many people here who really need to start being careful with rising costs, so hopefully it'll help them as well if they can buy good condition clothes/other items for a reasonable price.

Thanks for the link to lumos, i haven't got a lot to spare but I've donated what i can. It says they're trying to help 1500 orphans in ukraine so I'm sure every little helps.

Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain appeal

augb.co.uk/

My Town Council has been in touch with one of the towns it is twinning which is in Poland, about 150 miles from the border. The Polish town is asking for money, not goods, which will help them to support the 500 refugees they've taken in so far. It seems very sensible - they're not a rich town, and the money will go on direct costs that they incur hosting refugees. So, I'm definitely donating to that, but have also donated to the Red Cross, because at some point there'll be a need for direct medical intervention.