Dear Friends of Leopolis for Future,
I would like to present you a small report from the event and charity auction we organized recently.
The event was organised on 2nd December 2023 by Leopolis for Future foundation together with H.E. Ms. Yevheniia Filipenko, the Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva.
The main purpose of the event was to engage friends of Leopolis for Future foundation and the local community in the fundraiser. Our goal was to raise the money for the support od SEMA Ukraine organisation. The event was a real success. We reached our goal and we were excited about welcoming over 70 guests, representatives of Swiss businesses as well as diplomatic missions. Of course, this would not have been possible without the beautiful paintings donated to the auction by Mrs. Małgorzata Waluszewska.
The musical setting for the evening was provided the Lviv Virtuosos Quartet: Oksana Potapova (Violin), Khrystyna Yusypovych – Burko (Violin), Iryna Polova (Viola), Lyubov Holovata (Violoncello). You can visit the facebook profile of the Quartet by klicking here.
SEMA Ukraine, or also known as the Ukrainian Network of Women Affected by Violence, was formed in 2019 to raise awareness of conflict-related sexual violence amongst survivors and government decision-makers, to establish a viable peace, and to gain support for survivors, from both the Eastern Ukrainian conflict from 2014 and following the full-scale invasion in 2022. SEMA Ukraine is working in Ukraine since 2019, actively raising visibility on the use of sexual violence by Russian and pro-Russian forces, including past violence that occurred since 2014. They conduct interviews with national and international media outlets and participate in advocacy during in-person and online events, in national and international fora. SEMA Ukraine members have also documented crimes that took place in formerly occupied territories, and assisted survivors of sexual violence with peer-to-peer support as well as referrals.
SEMA Ukraine will use the funds raised for the rapid response fund created by SEMA Ukraine for provision of an emergency individual support for victims of Conflict Related Sexual Violence in Ukraine.
SEMA Ukraine agreed to use the funds raised during the abovementioned fundraising event exclusively for provision of emergency individual support for victims of Conflict Related Sexual Violence in Ukraine, in particular for:
- most and foremost a psychological support of survivors of CRSV;
- medical care that is not funded by the state or other (private insurance, public, CSO or international humanitarian organizations).
- socioeconomic support to meet the immediate needs of survivors of CRSV (shelter, food, hygiene kits).
- transport or accommodation for survivors of CRSV that enables them to access care.
