By Janet Ekstract
İSTANBUL – Ukrainians in the city of Chernihiv can rest a bit easier since the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) set up a mobile kitchen in this city that has seen extreme violence and continuous air strikes since Russia first invaded Ukraine last February 24. The Chernihiv populace hasn’t had access to food so the mobile kitchen is offering a much-needed lifeline to citizens in Chernihiv where most infrastructure has been severely damaged. The city, located near the Belarus border has become especially cold as winter takes hold and a plethora of people line up daily for hot meals there.
AFAD is also assisting those who can’t get out to the mobile kitchen by sending volunteers with meals to distribute them daily in various neighborhoods. The mobile kitchen was first set up in August this year and this has allowed AFAD to provide meals to at least 61,000 people. Daily, at least 550 people are served hot meals from the mobile kitchen. AFAD is just one among a multitude of Turkish charity groups who are delivering humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. The Turkish Red Crescent aka Kizilay as well as other charity organizations, are providing relief. Meanwhile, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that at least 9.3 million people in Ukraine require food and livelihood assistance. In a statement, a week ago OCHA reported that food was delivered to approximately 1.4 million in 24 Ukrainian oblasts including the capital Kyiv between October and November 2022.
