With the support of donors in Estonia, we raised €30,000 to provide winter heating assistance to families living near the front lines in Ukraine. On 6 December, the Estonian Refugee Council celebrated 25 years of supporting people who have lost their homes and sense of security. Over this time, we have supported more than 470,000 people affected by crises.  In Estonia, more than 300 people participated in adaptation training, and over 330 people took part in community activities in December. In Ukraine, we supported more than 170 families in Dnipropetrovska and Zaporizhzhia oblasts with cash-based livestock livelihoods support.  Since October, nearly 4,290 families in frontline and hard-to-reach areas of Eastern and Southern Ukraine – including Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts – have received winter heating assistance. In Georgia, we provided winter livelihoods support to 515 people who fled Ukraine, helping them cover their basic needs during the colder months.  In Syria, we distributed cash-based humanitarian assistance to 65 people in the Latakia region to help alleviate the consequences of the summer wildfires. 

Young Ukrainians who have fled the war to Estonia want to speak Estonian, but their language learning is often hindered by a lack of practice and fear of making mistakes. To support young people’s language learning, the Estonian Refugee Council has organised more than 60 meetings based on the invisible language learning methodology for young people with a refugee background over the course of the autumn.

At the beginning of December, the Estonian Refugee Council, together with its local partner, the Shchedryk Charitable Foundation, travelled to Novopavlivka – a small village in the Velykooleksandrivska community of Kherson oblast that has been living with war for more than three years.

In Estonia, Estonian language sessions for young people aged 13–18 continue, based on the immersive language-learning methodology developed by Tallinn University. In November, more than 320 people took part in adaptation trainings in Estonia. Trainings related to residence permits remain the most popular. In Ukraine, entrepreneurship training began for 105 entrepreneurs to help people affected by the war create or develop a sustainable source of income. In November, we provided winter heating assistance to a total of 2,260 families. In Armenia, three greenhouses were completed at schools in the Tavush region, and 400 students received environmental training. In Jordan, a project supporting vulnerable women-headed households in achieving independent livelihoods through smart and climate-friendly agricultural practices was completed. In Syria, we provided cash assistance to people in the city of Latakia to help them meet their basic needs following the wildfires.

In Ukraine, winter is not simply a cold season – for people in especially vulnerable situations, it is a matter of survival. The Estonian Refugee Council is launching its winter fundraising campaign to support frontline families in Ukraine with vital heating assistance.

We organised an international humanitarian conference in Tallinn. This year, the conference focused on institutional reforms and the funding crisis, the digital transformation, and access to crisis affected communities. With the support of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we continue providing food assistance in hospitals in Gaza, distributing over 9,000 meal portions in total. Read more on the Refugee Council website. In Estonia, 37 young people with a refugee background completed a training course on artificial intelligence. Throughout October, Estonian language learning sessions for young people were held in cooperation with Tallinn University, based on the implicit language learning methodology. The mental health support hotline for Ukrainians has received more than 2,900 calls over the past six months. In Armenia, community councils amplifying the voices of people with a refugee background were established in four new locations in October: Yerevan, Gyumri, Yeghegnadzor and Dilijan. In Georgia, a programme aimed at strengthening Georgian CSOs and civil society organisations came to an end – 19 organisations received support. In Syria, the Refugee Council is providing cash assistance to 65 families over a two-month period to help them cover their basic needs.

The humanitarian conference organised by the Estonian Refugee Council brought together humanitarian experts and organisations from around the world in Tallinn yesterday. Now in its third year, the conference facilitated discussions on the need for institutional reform, the deepening funding crisis, digital transformation, and ways to support people in hard-to-reach areas.