The images alone are heartbreaking. The reality on the ground is far worse: children without food, hospitals without generators, families without hope. Please help GOG Ukraine Aid deliver critical supplies to people in need, as their country is being torn asunder. You can give at https://gogukraineaid.org
Imagine yourself in that situation. A normal life in a new democracy still getting on its feet. A future member of the EU, an aspiring member of NATO - and you? Maybe a shopkeeper or an IT consultant or a farmer. You have a couple of kids, you complain about the weather and yell about politicians. Normal. You eat American fast food - you could almost be in Minnesota!The next day there are military jets overhead, tanks in the street, and your town is being bombed by Canada. You would be angry, right? But soon you would also be hungry and desperate - though also confused. Canada - your friendly neighbor?GOGUkraine Aid, a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit foundation has launched a broad-based initiative with several partners to provide humanitarian, medical, survival, and rescue supplies to support the Ukrainian people. The group also announced the addition of a new board member, Arthur Olshansky, a founder and CEO of multiple IT companies over the last 15 years, who understands what it takes to launch a successful organization.The organization is now seeking support from private citizens - donations in funds, or material, or logistical assistance for the the transport and delivery of material to the people most in need. With the help of Ukrainian government agencies, Ukrposhta - Ukraine's National Post - and NGOs in Eastern Europe and Ukraine, humanitarian aid and other supplies are delivered directly to Ukraine.While more than seven million people have been internally displaced since the country’s invasion and millions more need food and cash aid, the geographical and logistical hurdles change by the day. For example, Russia has announced a second ‘phase’ of the war and accelerated its military campaigns in the East. As of the start of April, the UN had helped almost one million people with direct aid, a fraction of the need. Many other groups have pitched in, each with its own set of targeted objectives and capabilities, but much more support is required.It is in this context that GOGUkraine Aid was formed. Analysts agree that, whatever the timeline or result of the conflict, Ukraine will take many years to rebuild. In the meantime, the organization seeks to address the urgent needs of the country’s citizenry, by raising the funds and materials to effectively provide life-saving assistance.It is your help that they need, urgently. And not “just” for the incalculable suffering and devastation, but also for an idea. Can one person, one man, be allowed to do this? The impact of the conflict is felt worldwide, as you know when you go to the gas station.GOGUkraine Aid aims to accomplish its goals with the help of volunteers on the ground in Ukraine and neighboring countries and in partnership with both Ukrainian government agencies and other non-profits aligned with their mission. Additional partners and sponsors are listed on the group’s website.Two of the organization’s three board members, Alex Chizhik and Arthur Olshansky were born in Kyiv. Mr. Chizhik is a former Navy JAGC prosecutor and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney. Mr. Olshansky is a technologist and a business leader, who opened the Ukraine office of his Maryland-based company, Klik.Solutions in 2015. Stuart Amos is the CEO of the healthcare company, FlavorX and has been instrumental in the formation of GOG Ukraine.“This is a European tragedy the like of which we have not seen since the second world war,” said a group spokesperson. “As a matter of conscience, we want to do all that we can to support the brave citizens who have already lost so much - and to step up for democracy in the region. If Ukraine falls, the world will be a poorer and less secure place.”It is true: it may not be personal for you. And the world has many problems. But this one is especially urgent: the situation has been called “genocide” and a War Crimes investigation has already begun. In other words, in no way is this “normal”, even by the very low bar inherently set by the concept of war itself.Click on the link in the description for more information.
