Help – Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe e.V.
Help – Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe e.V. was founded in 1981 to support Afghan refugees. Today, we are active in over 20 countries. Together with our global partner organizations, we work every day to enable people in our project regions to lead a self-determined and dignified life. Help provides effective emergency aid in the event of disasters and are committed to the sustainable fight against poverty, hunger and disease worldwide. Help supports people affected by humanitarian crises such as conflicts or natural disasters to lead a self-determined life. Empowering people remains at the heart of our project work and determines our actions. Help’s vision is a world where hardship, poverty and social injustice have been overcome and everyone can lead independent, self-determined lives in dignity, peace and safety, enjoying equal rights and maintaining harmony with the environment. Helping people to help themselves is the organisation’s guiding principle. Help supports people struggling with or threatened by crises. Help provides acute emergency aid and strengthen people’s capacity to survive. Help also improves living conditions and increase the resilience of people in need worldwide while respecting everyone’s right to fair participation. Help assistance is needs-based, guided by principles, and environmentally friendly and recognises that people are equal in all their diversity and whatever their circumstances. Help contributes to sustainable change in line with our vision.
In 2021, the Help – Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe mission started its activities in Ukraine, primarily focusing on developing small and medium-sized businesses in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. However, with the outbreak of the full-scale invasion, the organization shifted its focus to providing emergency assistance to war-affected populations throughout Ukraine. Help provides emergency assistance to the population, including food and hygiene kits, hot meals, and multipurpose cash assistance. In addition to providing emergency assistance, Help conducts projects on reconstruction, service to internally displaced persons, heating, food security, and healthcare. Through projects aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, the organization helps to ensure the development of the country’s agricultural sector. The organization collaborates with local partner organizations and involves local project participants in the planning and implementation of programs. This helps to strengthen the strength of civil society in Ukraine.
In the Skills Alliance for Ukraine, Help is represented with one project:
• Help’s project “Inclusive jobs in Ukraine” has three main pillars: skills and intermediation service development, business services development, and advocacy. Its goal is to facilitate the development of demand-driven products and services that will increase the target group’s participation in the labour market and enable them to take advantage of decent job opportunities. The project is focused on stimulating systemic changes in the ICT-BPO sector. This involves working with various stakeholders, including private sector companies, industry associations and government agencies, to identify and address key challenges and opportunities in the sector.