OTB FOUNDATION ACTIVATES IMMEDIATELY FOR UKRAINE EMERGENCY

Since the outbreak of the conflict, OTB Foundation immediately implemented initiatives created specifically for the needs generated by the emergency of the Ukrainian conflict.

The Foundation was the first to take up the urgent appeal launched by UNHCR to support people and families forced to flee within the national borders and to neighboring countries: Thanks to OTB Foundation’s help, UNHCR was able to ensure more than 6981 people a first direct economic support to help them cope with the most urgent needs.

After this first important collaboration, the Foundation took action directly from Italy.

Starting from the organization of buses leaving to Ukraine loaded with medicines and other medical supplies and returning to Italy with women and minors on board, to the first health reception, given also the pandemic situation, with first stop at OTB Foundation’s vaccine hub in Bassano del Grappa to do a first screening with antigenic swabs. The organization of the eventual quarantine period for Covid19 positives, inside hotels at first and then with the re-establishment of a closed hospital in Asiago used for this purpose, were also activities that were part of the health reception management.

Once this was over, the Foundation provided actual reception activities for the refugees, acting as an intermediary between them and the various proposed bodies (Prefecture and local cooperatives in charge), in the identification of safe housing (apartments and entire buildings) which then associated with the various cooperatives became CAS (Extraordinary Reception Centers) so that each of the beneficiaries could be included in the extraordinary reception project established by the Ministry of the Interior.

To date OTB Foundation has received 446 Ukrainian refugees fleeing war.

With a view to not abandoning these people, long-term integration activities such as vocational profiling and insertion into the world of work, identification of play/sports activities for the youngest and their inclusion in kindergartens and schools are also key activities that the Foundation has managed.

Together with OTB Group, the Foundation is now engaged in a long-term job placement project for Ukrainian refugees: this is the first project of its kind in the fashion industry in Italy. The program was launched after a comprehensive mapping by OTB Foundation of the professional profiles of the people received in the past months and involves the placement of the first 20 women within the OTB network.

In addition to being active in supporting those who have come to our territory, the Foundation does not stop helping the Ukrainian population directly on the ground: both directly by sending materials to the conflict zones and by relying on partners who are operating where the situation is hottest. There are in fact about a thousand families who, thanks to the support of OTB Foundation and Fondazione Zegna, are receiving aid in Odessa, Dnipro, Kramatorsk and Kyiv. To them Cesvi has delivered products such as sheets, pillows, warm blankets; space hygiene kits and baby hygiene kits, such as soap, diapers, baby wipes, talcum powder and moisturizer.