International Press on GEM Ukraine Missions
Our first 100 days on the ground were focused on establishing viable logistical operations, the extraction of people in war-torn areas, the relocation of refugees, and the delivery of critical aid supplies throughout the region.
Summary Stats
What we've accomplished to date
GEM BStrong has provided significant relief aid to the following 262 cities, towns, and villages
(map does not include relocations)
Phase 1: Disaster Relief
We established solutions, partnerships and strategies to recognize and assist all those affected, not only in Ukraine, but those displaced in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Moldova, Georgia, and beyond.
Relocations
In March 2022, GEM Bstrong established partnerships with the former first lady of Poland, Jolanta Kwaśniewska, Why Not Travel, and Airbnb. This program relocated 38,744 Ukrainian refugees to over 40 countries and placed 13,624 people in temporary housing. Today our relocation program is ongoing and focused mainly on European travel or Ukrainians returning back home.
Aid Distributions throughout the region
In March 2022, GEM activated its partnership with professional military NGOs such as Arial Recovery Group and many others. During this period, getting aid inside Ukraine required highly advanced tactics and methods. Since then, GEM has now established partnerships with over 150 vetted Ukrainian and European NGOs. To date, we have sent over 750 trucks into the region spanning 170 towns and cities. GEM and our partners have been distributing vital supplies to multiple towns on a daily basis for the last 10 months as the crisis continues.
Phase 2: The Gap Period
Due to the unique circumstances in Ukraine, it’s critical that aid continues to flow to the millions of in country displaced persons who are currently moving around from city to city to avoid bombings. This is called the gap period.
Smart Classes
Smart Classes are an education initiative to provide displaced children with classrooms and resources to continue their schooling. In partnership with SmartAid, classes have been established in Poland, Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine. Every classroom is equipped with all the technology needed for students to maintain their learning, while following the Ukrainian Ministry of Education’s curriculum.
Government Partnership
In May 2022, GEM and UA partner Life Quality established memorandums of understanding with many regional governors and mayors throughout Ukraine. GEM supplies these regional government hubs with aid and winterization supplies on a weekly basis. Government partnerships in place with Bucha, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Odessa, Mykolaiv and Kviv regions.
Supporting newly liberated towns and cities
Recently many areas of Ukraine have been successfully liberated. Some of these villages, cities, and regions had seen up to 8 months of occupation, where access to proper resources were unavailable. Those in these regions have not seen outside assistance this entire time, and were at direct risk during the occupation period. Our GEM Ukraine team works closely with local government, partners, and intel to bring aid into these recently liberated areas within days, such as Kherson, Donetsk, Iziym, Avdiivka, and many more. Again, these individuals have not had any outside aid or assistance and this is the first relief they have had in months.
Winterization
With average temperatures of below 0 Celsius, the approaching winter has been a concern for the last few months. GEM was able to plan accordingly for this cold weather and has been supplying life-saving aid beforehand. This includes thousands of warm blankets and bedding, generators, small space heaters, fire starter kits, and more. Additionally, our rebuilding efforts were extra necessary in order to quickly repair broken windows and heating units before temperatures dropped and rain and snow fell.
Invincibility
The Ukraine government & President’s office has created thousands of ‘Invincibility Points’ throughout the country, offering a space where locals can come get hot meals, access to device chargers, a warm space, supplies, and community support. GEM is presently supporting over 200 of these points, providing self-heating warm meals, blankets, generators, and other area-specific supplies. As more of these points are established, we will be able to assist many more locals routinely throughout Ukraine.
Phase 3: Sustainable Development
GEM, in partnership with Life Quality, has activated its Phase 3 rebuild programs in response to an overwhelming desire for Ukrainians to return back home to a sense a normalcy and hope for the future.
Vital Repairs
These repairs include supplying communities with sustenance supplies until they are fully back up and running. During this phase, we have committed to rebuilding and light repair work on hundreds of homes, apartment buildings, schools, medical centers, and more. These projects have allowed for hundreds of people to return to their homes, thousands of students to return to school, and for the local economy to be refreshed. All rebuild work is performed in low-risk areas where critical risk assessment measures have been taken.
Front Line Support
In partnership with the Howard G. Buffet Foundation, major distributions along the active front lines have been taking place in the most needed areas. These communities are the hardest to reach and can be without support for months on end. We have been able to supply dozens of villages with Family Necessity Kits, generators, blankets, and more. We send multiple semi-trucks to these regions weekly.
Community Rebuilds in Ukraine
Partners
