The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused unimaginable suffering among the Ukrainian population. People are having to seek shelter in cellars and bunkers, hundreds of thousands of people are on the run, and the supply of food, medicine and other daily necessities is becoming increasingly difficult. The "Stiftung RTL - Wir helfen Kindern" (RTL - We help children) and "Stiftung Stern - Hilfe für Menschen" (Stern - Help for People) foundations are supporting people in the affected areas with donation drives. A campaign launched on Thursday, which has been running intensively in RTL Deutschland's programming and on all its channels, had already generated more than €2.4 million in donations to the "Stiftung RTL - Wir helfen Kindern" foundation alone by noon yesterday.
Traumatized children
“I have never experienced such a wave of solidarity,” says Wolfram Kons, a member of the “Stiftung RTL – Wir helfen Kindern” foundation board. “These funds are already providing direct, uncomplicated aid on the ground. Our partners in the war zone are active in Ukraine and are doing an incredible job.” Partners include UNICEF, the SOS Children’s Villages, the German medical aid organization Action Medeor, Caritas International, UN Refugee Aid, and the Malteser relief service. Among other things, they are currently managing the further evacuation of children and their families from war zones, transport of clean drinking water, distribution of hot meals from field kitchens, and medical care, provision of health, hygiene and emergency training materials, and use of emergency shelters and washing facilities. Psychosocial teams are also on duty for the children, who are already traumatized. The “Stiftung Stern – Hilfe für Menschen” foundation also works with audited partner organizations on site and is forwarding the donations without deduction.
“The whole world is watching the dramatic events in Ukraine,” reads a social media post by Stephan Schäfer, co-CEO of RTL Deutschland and Chairman of the “Stiftung RTL – Wir helfen Kindern” foundation. “It is very important to us not only to provide comprehensive information about the terrible events unfolding there, but also to provide comprehensive help to the at-risk children and their families in the war zones from the very first moment. We immediately launched a fundraising campaign for the affected people on all platforms and thank each and every person who is helping now – on site or with a donation.” RTL and NTV will continue to report around the clock on the latest developments in Ukraine in the days ahead and will continue to call for donations across all media.
