BRITISH HUMANITARIAN AID
“Together we can help”
Mission Statement
It is the mission of British Humanitarian Aid (BHA) to actively seek and prompt
monetary and material donations in order to ease the suffering of people in Chernihiv
Region, Ukraine, where the collapse of The Soviet Union, and the disaster at Chernobyl,
have led to the impoverishment of families, and to cancer and sickness in both children
and adults. No donated goods are re-
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British Humanitarian Aid started their work in Ukraine in 1995, alongside the convoys of humanitarian aid that they were running to Romania and The Balkans. Since 2000, all BHA’s efforts have been directed towards alleviating some of the hardship, for the poor and handicapped, in the Chernihiv Region of Ukraine.
Although there are problems in Ukraine relating to the catastrophic explosion of the nuclear reactor at Chernobyl, these pale into insignificance in light of the economic disaster that arrived with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The current government, ruled by a West friendly coalition, is struggling to get much needed social reforms passed into legislation. The dire living conditions are making many long for the “easy” days of Soviet rule.
In Chernihiv Region, a predominantly agricultural area, the state farms were just handed back to the villagers who had no possibility of running them effectively, as they had no money to invest in them. A few survive, just, but as you drive through the region you pass many more that are deserted and decaying. Investment is desperately needed but while the government remains unstable few from outside the country are prepared to take the risk.
The loss of their work and thus the ability of men to provide for their family has led to a loss of dignity. Many men have just left Ukraine and too many have sought solace from a bottle. Unemployment, in several of the districts we serve, exceeds 80%. Conditions for many of those who live in the villages are scarcely better than they were 100 years ago. However, many who now live in the towns, consider that those who live in villages are better off, as they can at least tend their animals and grow crops. If you visit Chernihiv, and stroll round the town as a tourist, you have to look closely to see the signs of poverty as most are hidden. However, if you can once get past the superficial, you can find heartbreaking need and hardship.
Our efforts are directed through the Aratta Organisations that we have helped to set up and maintain. The main centre in Chernihiv, as well as offering advice and support to the needy, runs a wide range of activities for both adults and children. A full time team, effectively employed by BHA, copes brilliantly with the customs formalities, allocation and distribution of the aid.
This is a unique opportunity for motorcyclists to visit Ukraine, to meet others from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine at Nizhin “motofest” and to raise funds for BHA and Aratta projects.
Full details at:-
KENT TV VIDEO about BHA