DONATE TO UKRAINE RELIEF!

Dear CCJ traveler and friends of CCJF!

It feels like history is repeating itself. 

In February of 1940, during the brutal invasion of Finland by the Soviet Union, my mother was born in the historic territory in those days known as Ingria. With roots in Finnish Karelia, the Ingrians spoke Finnish and identified as Finns, although they were citizens of the Soviet Union. During the war, they found themselves wedged between Stalin's Red Army and Hitler's Nazi Germany.

The initial part of this war lasted for 105 days, and was one of the most brutal, yet least documented part of the second world war....they fled to Finland during the Continuation War, and eventually landed in Sweden in 1946. They had some, but not much help along the way. Ingria disappeared from the map and their people were dispersed around the Soviet Union. Very few were able to ever return....

This time around, through social media and global news outlets, the world is watching in real time. We have a faster, more sophisticated way of responding and ability to directly support the Ukrainian people. Cross Cultural Journeys Foundation has identified three different organizations - World Central Kitchen; UkraineNow and CORE, who all directly support refugees with food, transportation, shelter and clothing.

World Central Kitchen's is a world wide relief organization that specifically targets refugees on the move with healthy meals. Their program Chefs for Ukraine feeds thousands of Ukrainan refugees on the move in the neighboring countries.

UkraineNow is a global decentralized effort that organizes volunteers, drivers and temporary housing to the Ukrainians crossing the borders into surrounding countries.

CORE is a non-profit on the ground in Poland, distributing hygiene kits and thermal blankets, as well as emergency cash assistance to help families resettle.

CCJF will keep up with where funds are needed most, and make sure to update you as the situation changes. Thank you for your donation! Your support will make a difference.

Warm regards,
Cilla Utne and the CCJF Board

Board member, Cross Cultural Journeys Foundation
President, Cross Cultural Journeys