“We are all Ukraine” campaign raises 1.104 accommodation offers and sends 90 tons of donations in two weeks

The “We are all Ukraine” campaign, organized by the municipalities of Porto, Gaia and Matosinhos, triggered a real wave of solidarity. Until Saturday, March 19th, 14 days since its launch, the website www.somostodosucrania.pt has already received 1.104 accommodation offers and gathered 370 offers for the services exchange. In this period, 90 tons of donations raised as part of the campaign were already sent to the border areas between Polland and Ukraine.

The 1.104 accommodation offers are geographically divided into 242 rooms or apartments in the city of Porto, 101 in Gaia, 63 in Matosinhos and 62 located outside the Atlantic front.

As for the offers that fall under the service exchange, the campaign website registers 90 forms for the provision of medical or nursing care, 56 in the area of psychology, 38 in translation support, 14 in restaurant services, and another 172 offers distributed by areas, the most relevant being legal, logistical and operational support.

More than 1.100 calls have been made to the helpline (222 090 420) since the beginning of the initiative, March 6th. The origin of the calls extends to the entire North region, not being limited to the three municipalities of the Atlantic Front. The most frequent questions are related to the collection of goods and accommodation.

Collecting donations has already made it possible to the send 90 tons of goods and material, and the cargo of the first shipments that left the municipalities of Porto and Gaia was, mostly, composed of food products, clothing, articles of hygiene, medicines and camping equipment.

Three vans with a ton of medical supplies also arrived at the Polish-Ukrainian border on March 12th, in an initiative carried out by seven elements of the Polícia Municipal de Gaia.

Bearing in mind that the clothing donations exceeded all expectations, the list of basic goods was, in the meantime, revised and the articles of clothing excluded. Alcoholic beverages, water, milk, frozen food, fruit, vegetables and other perishable goods, products packed in glass containers are also excluded from the list of basic goods available on the website www.somostodosucrania.pt. For next week, the Municipality of Porto has already planned the departure of four more IRR trucks, from the headquarters of Batalhão de Sapadores Bombeiros of Porto, the logistics center of the operation in the city.

In the Municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia two other IRR trucks are scheduled to leave, making a total of 48 tons of donations. In this municipality, donations are being stored in warehouses provided by Águas de Gaia, CTT and Luís Simões.

Campaign brings together support from various quarters

In addition to the solidarity of thousands of anonymous citizens. The contributions of companies such as Centromarca have been crucial. Starting next week, Centromarca will support the transport operation of four IRR trucks, continuing the support also provided by Rangel Logistics Solutions, Symington, Pingo Doce, JEUNE - Young Entrepreneurs Organization of the European Union, Luís Simões and Portugalenses Transportes.

The Invicta also received the contribution of Boavista FC and Lions Clube of Boavista in collecting donations, the logistical support of Toyota Caetano Portugal, which provided a forklift to help accommodating the goods in the trucks, and the immediate availability of Círculo Católico dos Operários of Porto in preparing meals, then sent to Seminário Redentorista Cristo Rei, in Gaia, which already accommodates Ukrainian refugees.

Trust launched a fundraising campaign and, thanks to more than 4 thousand euros donated by employees, the medical team and the clinic’s suppliers, medicines and first aid items already sent in shipments ensured by the city of Porto were purchased.

From the outset, associated with the campaign, the Portuguese Psychologists Association and the Conselho Regional of Porto – Lawyers Association have active protocols established with three municipalities on the Atlantic Front to support Ukrainian citizens. Likewise, IEFP has accepted to directly receive the job offers that arrive via the website www.somostodosucrania.pt.

In Gaia, it is Gertal that is responsible for providing meals to all the citizens staying at Hospedaria do Parque Biológico. The support of ACES – through the public health team, which carries out the Covid-19 testing at the moment of reception, assessment and provision of primary health care – has also been crucial, as well as the medical emergency bags, kindly offered by Aeksa. The Colégio Adventista of Oliveira do Douro made available part of a building that will be able to accommodate up to 40 Ukrainian children.

Symbolizing the transversality that the initiative gathered throughout the country, the Municipality of Gaia was contacted by the Azambuja City Hall to provide goods donated by the population, collected by the Seminário Redentorista Cristo Rei, to support 140 refugees from Ukraine living in municipal facilities in that town. Thus, blankets, quilts, comforters or bed and bath linens donated by the inhabitants of Gaia were sent to Azambuja, through the company Luís Simões.

In Matosinhos, Kinda Home furnished the two reception centers in the city, with a capacity for 34 people. The municipality’s restaurants mobilized to provide meals for the displaced Ukrainians who are already in Matosinhos.

Pet legalisation

Many families from Ukraine have arrived accompanied by their pets, namely cats and dogs, without the proper documentation and, consequently, failing to comply with the legal requirements for staying in Portuguese territory.

In this sense and, attending the special circumstances that the Ukrainian People is facing, the Municipality of Porto makes its veterinary services available free of charge to support the legalization of pets from Ukraine that are residing in the city, thus complying, with the guidelines of the Direção-Geral de Alimentação e Veterinária.