A US-based charity has launched a helpline to help evacuate international students stranded in war-ravaged Ukraine by arranging transport to the nearest border checkpoint and arranging food and other essentials for their journey. Sewa International has already registered more than 4,000 students on its helpline, and the volunteers are making concerted efforts to help another 400 evacuate, according to a statement from the organization on Monday.
Explosions and gunshots were heard in disputed cities in Ukraine on Monday as the Russian invasion met fierce resistance. Sewa Europe, an independent partner organization, and the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) are currently working in ten Ukrainian cities.
Sewa International has also committed $10,000 to Ukrainian relief efforts and has launched a Facebook fundraiser to help people caught up in this humanitarian crisis, the release said. The messages and videos we get from the war zone show the fear, anxiety and danger people face as they run to safety. As the global Sewa network rises to this challenge, I am asking people to support Sewa International in this rescue effort,” said Arun Kankani, president of Sewa International, US.
“The war between Russia and Ukraine has affected all people in the region, causing grave distress in a world that is still struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Sewa International in the US and HSS volunteers in Europe, US and India are receiving hundreds of messages seeking help from people trapped in the war zone,” he explained. On February 26, Sewa International helped a group of 150 students to travel by bus from Vinnitsa to Chernovtsy. In Chernovtsy, Sewa provided shelter, food and transportation for their onward journey to the Romanian border, the release said.
According to official estimates, about 18,000 Indian students study at universities in Ukraine. As a result of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, they are currently stranded, facing severe food shortages and in urgent need of transport and shelter. The Indian Embassy in Kiev advises these students on how to reach the western border of the country to reach Poland, Romania or Hungary from where they can board Air India flights operated by the Government of India specifically to India. reaches. According to the latest information, a total of 1,396 Indian nationals have been returned from Ukraine in six evacuation flights.
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