In May 2022, According to Humanitarian Outcomes, a project of the UK Humanitarian Innovation Hub, nearly all humanitarian help inside Ukraine has been implemented by local organisations, not big international players. I.e. local NGOs, already or newly established, church groups, etc - says Katja Kolcio, Ph.D., Professor at Wesleyan University (Connecticut, USA) in the Departments of Dance, Environmental Study, and the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, representative of Community Self-Help in the US.

International organisations get 87% of financial aid to Ukraine. They were not able to effectively use the resources to deliver humanitarian aid to Ukraine

Local Ukrainian organisations like NGO "Community Self-Help" are the key to effective humanitarian work, Ukrainian vitality and recovery during and after war.

The key factors for this effectiveness are:

(1) Personal connection;

(2) Flexibility;

(3) Long-term commitment and deep knowledge of the context.

Personal connection: Due to russian dominance, many people in the US have studied russian view of history.

NGO "Community Self-Help" and other Ukrainian activities build their personal connections around the world. Due to this and low bureaucracy, communities like this can connect Ukraine to the world.

Flexibility: I`ve been working with these people under different organisations since 2015. In 2022, they have been able to immediately re-structure to face new challenges.

Long-term commitment and deep knowledge of the context. They have been working in psychosocial help in Ukraine for years. We know they will continue to be committed to the work for years ahead.

I live in Middletown, CT. We work with people from the Defence and Foreign relations Committees in the US Congress which define US policy towards Ukraine, as well as the Connecticut University and Middletown Ukraine Help Center. The information sharing from/with the Community allows to get more information than in the news and to put a human face on it. Together with the Middletown city fire department, firefighter divisions across Connecticut, Wesleyan University, Community representatives, we have collected 5 tons of firefighter equipment, medicines and funds for shipping costs.

Watch the entire performance of Katja Kolcio at the link - https://youtu.be/klWC3SH2C8E