Six disaster relief efforts have been supported by the Humanitarian Relief Fund.
Thanks to your donations, between February and October 2023, the ESA Humanitarian Relief Fund (HRF) has supported people in distress in six countries through its Natural Disaster Fund, for a total amount of 38.000€.
The HRF primarily aims at supporting small organisations that conduct community-level humanitarian action in line with the UN Sustainable Development goals. Assessing and selecting such projects takes time, so the HRF operates differently when emergency help is required after a natural disaster.
When resorting to the Natural Disaster Fund (NDF), the HRF Committee strives at making the best decision fast, assessing the efficiency of the donation for the targeted population. In regions with a high level of political instability and/or a low level of infrastructure, emergency help needs to be directed at big organisations with specific expertise, strong logistics systems, and human and material resources.
However, the HRF Committee also relies on the international community within ESA to obtain information on reliable small organisations that are active in the regions affected by natural disasters. It was the case for instance when regions in Turkey, Italy and Morocco faced crisis situations. In the latter case, the outcome of the exchanges between the HRF Committee and some colleagues in HQ and ESTEC was the HRF donation to Les Chemins du Coeur, to support this small NGO’s work in the Morocco region that was devastated by an earthquake in September.
To support the HRF, you can make donations, let us know of humanitarian projects that need support or become a volunteer. Get in touch with us by writing an email at esa.hrf.committee@esa.int or visit HRF Facebook and Instagram.
