We are often asked about our baseline "micro-humanitarian instant impact". We believe that modest budgets can change people's lives if they are used quickly and effectively. Here's the latest example of how we've applied this logic.

A few weeks ago, we saw on volunteer groups a request for a very small veterinary unit in Odesa* that looks after stray cats, Odesa Cat Crew, structured around a vet, Victor, and a few volunteers, including Aliona, Tanya and Ira.

Over the last 2 years, the problem of pets has become a real public health issue. Pets are very important in Ukrainian society, and many families have them. But when they fled the war zones, they weren't always able to take their 4-legged companions with them, and the villages deserted or ravaged by the bombardments are full of dogs and cats left to fend for themselves.

This is where teams like Odesa Cat Crew really come into their own.

Victor's request was simple: their surgical table had broken down and they needed a new one urgently. With a budget of less than 400 euros, it was easy for us to decide. Three phone calls to partners to check whether the organisation was trustworthy. We got the green light, and within an afternoon the second-hand table was found on a Ukrainian classified ads site, and the funds were transferred immediately and almost instantaneously by Wise. A few days later, the table was installed and the animals were once again operated on in the best possible conditions.

So yes, it's a very small project, and the programmes we've been running in Ukraine for nearly 2 years are generally much bigger, but we're delighted to have been able to help Victor and to have had a direct and almost immediate impact on his ability to help the cats of Odesa, even with less than 400 euros. A useful project, easy and quick to implement. 

All this is to say that every donation counts, even the smallest ones, because they can have the immediate impact that you hear so much about.

*: We have chosen the Ukrainian spelling for the town of Odesa, with a single s, the two s corresponding to the Russian version.