MAD Foundation's Operation SafeDrop has been working on the ground in Poland and Ukraine since early March to assist and support Ukrainian families fleeing the conflict. We are now based in Lviv, where our humanitarian staff and volunteers help vulnerable individuals through their entire path to safety. MAD’s extraction team brings aid to needed locations in Eastern Ukraine for those remaining in place and carries out extractions from those locations for women, children, and other vulnerable individuals seeking safety further west. Our skilled volunteer translators have supported refugees through the often difficult transition through the refugee centres in Poland and navigating the transition to stable accommodation. We also provide a matching service under the UK Government's Homes for Ukraine scheme, matching compatible UK hosts with Ukrainian guests, assisting with visa applications and arranging transport to the UK. Our mission is currently covering 5 key objectives to provide support and assistance as necessary to the following: 1. Extract vulnerable groups and individuals from frontline and unsafe locations within Ukraine to our base in Lviv and across the border to Poland with our specialist extraction teams. 2. Provide social service support and translation to Ukrainians who are transitioning through the Polish border. 3. Source and deliver aid to locations across Ukraine, including by working with trusted partners to verify and prioritize types of aid and delivery locations. 4. Assist Ukrainians applying for a visa under the UK Homes for Ukraine Scheme by providing translation and host matching services, casework and provision of services and accommodation during waiting periods, local transportation services, and transit to the UK. 5. As needed, support and assist families to return to their homes in Ukraine.
