Mission Statement
Humanitarian Aid Guernsey was founded on the simple premise of a mother’s love. Natalia Silvester is Polish born and responding to the horrific images of children in war torn Ukraine pouring over the border into her homeland, she reached out to Polish charities to offer help.
Humanitarian Aid Guernsey is a non-profit organisation giving local people an opportunity to donate items specifically requested by charities on the front line. With vans and logistics in place this essential aid can be sent directly to the border. Going forward this charity will look to offer aid to other refugee crisis around the world driven by the same ethos –
immediate aid where it is needed most
‘From tiny acorns, mighty oak trees grow’… from our founder’s seed of an idea a team quickly formed around it offering the soil and nurture necessary to grow it into the sapling, the oak tree and now the forest the organisation has become. Across a number of skill sets including compliance, language skills, accountancy, logistics, administration, public relations, human resources, digital marketing and fundraising a group of like-minded volunteers from multiple disciplines came together to create the charity Humanitarian Aid Guernsey. We continue to work tirelessly together to uphold our ethos ‘Immediate aid where it is needed most’
Our work includes delivering vital aid to the front line of the war in Ukraine, working with partnership charities in Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. Supporting 1500 orphaned children across that region, facilitating donations both monetary and material from the local community to Eastern Europe and supporting Ukrainian refugees arriving on island.
Our ever growing team of volunteers are the lifeblood of the organisation. From the Board of Trustees to the sorting depot every member of the charity is a volunteer. As a non-profit organisation we rely on this essential human resource, our volunteers represent our charity’s ethics and uphold its values when carrying out their charitable duties. We are a committee lead foundation and as such all members of the charity have a voice and are encourage to share ideas of how to expand our initiatives.
If you would like to become a volunteer click here
Immediate Aid where it is needed most
Natalia Silvester
Founder and Chair
As a mother watching my young son sleep and seeing the appalling images of the Ukrainian children fleeing their country, I knew, in that moment, that I had to do everything in my power to help.
Nothing is impossible if you are prepared to work hard. I knew that surrounding myself with like-minded people by reaching out, harnessing the strength of community feeling, facilitating their power to generously donate was the answer. No organisation or individual action is too small to change many lives.
We, as a charity, believe that protecting the humanity and dignity of vulnerable people is our calling, walking the walk is just as important as talking the talk, so we created a dialogue and relationships with charities across Europe to support the current humanitarian crisis.
I thank the dedicated and professional charity team and the Guernsey community for their continuing support.
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