The National Lottery has donated €1.9 million to meet the urgent needs of Ukrainians due to the war in their home country, Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Sammy Mahdi announced on Thursday.
The money will be used by Belgian organisations that have joined forces in the 12-12 Consortium, which are providing emergency aid to refugees from Ukraine in the form of urgent care, food, hygiene, education, psychosocial support and protection.
"Our society’s solidarity with Ukrainians is particularly great,” Mahdi said. “Together with the National Lottery, we want to join in this solidarity and give a serious boost to organisations that help Ukrainians.”
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Over 10,000 Ukrainian refugees have registered in Brussels since the start of the war, with hundreds in need of shelter.
"The Belgian population is showing incredible generosity and solidarity in this crisis. In the same way, the National Lottery wants to provide help where it is needed,” said CEO of the National Lottery Jannie Haek.
“Every day, €550,000 is allocated to projects and initiatives that intend to make a difference for a large number of people in society,” she concluded.
The National Lottery donated an identical amount of €1.9 million to aid the coronavirus crisis last year.
