Once the world’s leading humanitarian donor, the United States has now cut 90% of its foreign assistance. This decision has created a humanitarian funding crisis with devastating consequences around the world.

A new season of the entrepreneurship programme Boost will launch in Estonia at the end of February.In January, more than 400 refugees participated in adaptation support training sessions in Estonia, with over half of them – 224 – attending legal-themed training.With the help of EU funding, we are soon launching four community councils in Armenia to enable people with refugee backgrounds to express their concerns, advocate for solutions to their problems, and participate in decision-making processes that affect them. Additionally, we will form self-help groups for vulnerable refugees.

In 2024, the Estonian Refugee Council operated in Ukraine, Estonia, Armenia, Georgia, Jordan, and Lebanon, providing immediate assistance in emergencies and supporting more than 69,000 crisis-affected people in rebuilding their lives.

In Estonia, we have relaunched the "Boost" entrepreneurship programme, which helps participants develop or restart their existing businesses. Registration is open on the Estonian Refugee Council platform.In Ukraine we have provided cash-based assistance to nearly 296,000 people. In Ukraine, we continue to distribute winter support to cover heating costs for 5000 households during the upcoming winter season. Assistance will be provided in cash, or alternatively, firewood or coal will be delivered directly to those in need.We are launching four community councils in Armenia to enable people with refugee backgrounds to express their concerns, advocate for solutions to their problems, and participate in decision-making processes that affect them.We will also continue working with community councils in Georgia to amplify the voices of refugees and internally displaced persons there.

Oksana, along with her husband and daughter, left her hometown of Kharkiv due to the war in March 2022. This is how the family ended up in Cherkasy. Before the full-scale invasion, Oksana sold kimchi – a popular Korean snack – through an online store on Instagram. At one time, her daughter became interested in K-pop culture, and Oksana not only supported this hobby, but also began to study the Korean language and culture, including cuisine.

Valerii and his wife live in the village in Donetsk region. Their children are already grown up and live separately. Valerii is a pensioner now but before he worked for 40 years at a local mine. Shortly before the start of the full-scale invasion, the family moved into a new house, which they built for a long time themselves.

ERC team visited families in the town of Smila in Cherkasy region who received assistance from the Estonian Refugee Council in Ukraine through the Emergency livelihoods programme.

On 22–23 November, at Ilmaveere in Setomaa, the final of the "Empowering Women" entrepreneurship programme hackathon, organised in collaboration by the Estonian Refugee Council, Garage48, and Swedbank, selected 41 of the best business ideas from 60. These ideas will now proceed to a business incubation programme running until the end of March.