I’m Olena Hiliarovska, originally from Kharkiv, Ukraine; I migrated to the Netherlands in 1992 and live in Amsterdam with my son. I own my own business – Lena HairAffair that operates in both Amsterdam and Zurich.

The reason I have initiated this effort is a personal one: A while ago my Mom who is 80 years old, my niece with her 10 year old son, my childhood female friend with her 10 year old daughter and her mother-in-law were sitting in a basement, using it as a bomb shelter under hard shelling of the Russian army. For them to be able to leave was impossible as they had no transport, so I scraped together the money I could and purchased a car so that the my niece’s husband could drive them in 3 days to the Ukrainian-Polish border. After renting a bus in the Netherlands, I drove to the border with friends to pick them up. We had one open seat in the bus, so we took one more woman who has no place-country to go to; now she is in the Netherlands at the home we found for her.

Since the beginning of this war many of my clients/friends and I are helping by organizing transportation, delivering food, and providing both humanitarian and psychological support with the resources we have both for Ukrainians living in the Netherlands and where possible in Ukraine itself. With the help of my family and friends, Roel Tangenberg, Marc Juchli and Dmitri Visser, the foundation to support Ukraine on a professional level, “Red de vrijheid van de Oekraïne“ now is a reality!

What is our mission?

The mission of Red de Vrijheid van de Oekraïne is to provide much needed supplies, food and transport across the border for both refugees and their beloved pets. This is accomplished by working directly with my growing network of 100+ friends and other volunteers plus a huge host of medical, humanitarian, and social professionals that have their finger on the pulse of what’s needed now.

One cruical point in our mission is to provide the missing transport for the above mentioned neccessities that go to the Ukrainian people. Therefore we aquired already a minibus and have successfully transported not only goods but refugees. We plan to increase our fleet to not only to provide further services but also to be ensured that all the transports are safe and targeted (currently to Zaporoje, Kharkiv, liberated villages previously under occupation close to Kiev).

How we raise funds

We depend on continously finding donors. Therefore we:

• Reach out to businesses in the Netherlands and Switzerland were we have close contacts who are willing to donate
• Host and organize exhibitions for Ukrainian artists where to profit goes to this charity
• Increasing our presence on social media to potential donors

How can you help?

Personally, I donate 30% of my gross revenue from my business, Lena HairAffair, to the foundation “Red de Vrijheid van de Ukraine.”
To support the continued efforts of the foundation “Red de Vrijheid van de Ukraine,“ please donate.

Travel assistance

We assist people within the Ukraine to get to the border. Furthermore, we have people at the borders who help with with the transport to the nearest train station or airport.

Accommodation

For refugees arriving in the Netherlands and in Switzerland, we help to find an accommodation and provide legal as well as medical assistance.

Food & other goods

We send trucks filled with food, medical supply and other necessities to the Ukraine.