At the end of February 2022, Mariupol found itself at the epicenter of a brutal and bloodshed battle. The city's residents were less and less likely to communicate.
Mariupol resident Denis Minin, a presenter, journalist and volunteer, was still in Kyiv on February 24, 2022, while his parents were in Mariupol. Within a few days, they lost contact.
Minin began gathering people who wanted to reach Mariupol by their own means of transportation to rescue their relatives and friends. And he succeeded. Soon, the first convoy departed from Zaporizhzhia to Mariupol. People understood that the enemy was cruel, therefore the risks were high, and each of them might never return or die.
This was the starting point for the NGO "Vyvezemo". Concerned volunteers united to help evacuate people from the besieged Mariupol. Later, this initiative grew into a large-scale humanitarian effort.
"One of our first buses returned, but the next four remained in the occupied territory. Two drivers were taken captive in Olenivka, one was nearly killed in a tank battle and treated in Donetsk. So, our start was bleak, and one could have thought whether to continue," says Denis Minin, the head of the NGO "Vyvezemo".
For all participants of the evacuation, there was significant danger, as the risks of crossing the border, the unpredictability and cruelty of Russian forces, and the individual needs and health conditions of the people to be evacuated had to be taken into account.
Despite these difficulties and risks, people joined the "Vyvezemo" team. Over the course of two years, the team grew from 5 activists and 15 volunteers to 9 team members and 25 volunteers, including those risking their lives by continuing to live in temporarily occupied territories. The number of those seeking help also increased. In 2022, approximately 5000 people were evacuated from Mariupol and the temporarily occupied territories.
Gradually, the number of those seeking assistance increased. Since the inception of its operations, and up to the present day, the number of evacuated individuals from Mariupol and temporarily occupied territories, by the efforts of the "Vyvezemo" NGO, has reached 7,000.
In June 2023, the organization realized the need for support and reinforcement. Minin reached out to ISAR Ednannia and successfully participated in the "Basic Support for CSOs Working in Humanitarian Response" competition. Overall, this enabled the team to achieve remarkable results in just six months: from September 2023 to March 2024, "Vyvezemo" evacuated 2,087 people and 207 animals from Mariupol, temporarily occupied, and frontline Ukrainian territories. Additionally, 4,130 Ukrainians in frontline villages of the Zaporizhzhia region received humanitarian aid (food packages, clothing, hygiene items, and medications), while 5,550 internally displaced persons in the Cherkasy region received humanitarian packages, clothing, hygiene items, and medicines.
Ksenia
25-year-old Ksenia survived the blockade of Mariupol. She had a tattoo, which significantly complicated her departure from the occupied territory. In the autumn of 2022, Ksenia was brutally beaten by Russian servicemen in Mariupol because of the same tattoos that the enemy perceived as "Nazi symbols".
She was afraid to leave the occupied territory because the route to Ukraine passed through checkpoints with Russian military personnel, representatives of the so-called "people's republics," and special services, who could notice her tattoo and subject her to violence again. Volunteers from "Vyvezemo" consulted with her, reassured her, and offered assistance in planning her route and understanding the meaning of her tattoo via Google. They persuaded her to leave the occupied Russian territory, and she passed through the checkpoints confidently.
In October 2023, Ksenia was breathing the air of free Ukraine, and now she is with her family.
"The cruelty of the enemy is unforgettable! It's my trauma for life. I counted the days until departure, but I was very afraid. "Vyviezemo" planned and brought to life my evacuation. Thank you! And I will remember my rescue until the end of my days," says Ksenia, with tears in her eyes.
The importance of the evacuation and assistance project for the affected and displaced individuals, implemented by the NGO "Vyviezemo," cannot be overstated, as it concerns the actual lives saved of Ukrainians. The project, supported by ISAR Ednannia and USAID, once again demonstrates the courage, determination, and ability of Ukrainians to quickly self-organize. After all, their home is Ukraine.
The activities of the NGO "Vyvezemo" are supported by ISAR Ednannia by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) within the Ukraine Civil Society Sectoral Support Activity implemented by ISAR Ednannia in partnership with the Ukrainian Center of Independent Political Research (UCIPR) and Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law (CEDEM). The contents are not the responsibility of ISAR Ednannia and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
