ROME – The first tranche of aid for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, consisting of a sum of almost €6 million, will be disbursed at Christmas on behalf of the Holy Father, according to the press service of the Holy See.
“This is half of the €12 million already collected, destined to assist more than two million people without discrimination on the basis of religion, confession or ethnic group, especially in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, Kharkiv and Dnipro,” a press release reads.
“Following the extraordinary collection, requested by Pope Francis on April 24, 2016 in the churches of Europe to help the populations affected by the conflict, the Holy See, through the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum,” coordinated the constitution of an in loco technical committee, chaired by Bishop Jan Sobilo, auxiliary of Kharkiv-Zaporizhia, which works in contact with the apostolic nuncio in Ukraine, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti,” according to the document.
“From the commencement of its activity in July, the committee, based in Zaporizhia, has chosen and evaluated aid projects presented by Christian charitable organizations and international agencies. The committee now funds twenty large scale projects (for individual amounts up to €250,000) and 39 “solidarity initiatives” (for amounts up to €20,000). The money will be distributed, in collaboration with the apostolic nunciature, in support of works of assistance in the sectors of food, housing, medicine and hygiene,” the press release reads.
