Foundation Damen Support: support Ukrainian evacuees

An emotional visit to the Damen office in Gdansk

The group was excited, yet silent when Annelies Damen and Jitte Milder (Global Marketing Communication) entered the office of Damen in Gdansk on May 16th. They were a little shy at first, but a feeling of family togetherness bound all together. Seventeen Ukrainian evacuees were gathered around a table in a conference room, normally used for business meetings. Now the room was overloaded with emotions, gratitude and touching attention for all.

Annelies Damen visits Galatí, Romania

Annelies Damen travelled to the shipyard of Damen in Galatí, where hundreds of evacuated colleagues and their families are staying. She spoke to women and children, to understand what help would benefit their scattered lives. Ukrainian evacuees shared many heartbreaking stories. The level of uncertainty in their lives is alarming, that’s why we at Stichting Damen Helpt try to make them feel secure where we can. Up until now in Romania, we helped find housing in apartments, education for children, and health care to provide this security. Amidst all this, a woman gave birth to her child ‘Alexandra’. A wonderful moment for Alexandra’s family and friends. Meanwhile, 35 women have gone back to work in an office building on the yard. This shows that our colleagues' motivation to work is extremely high as they want to keep their job, regain something of a daily life and remain within the Damen family.

Family reunions in Vlissingen

At the yards in Vlissingen, the Netherlands, a number of workers from Ukraine have found employment. Following the invasion of their country, concern about their wives, children and other relatives was immense. Damen has arranged for the evacuation of their loved ones to Vlissingen. While the workers lived together in dedicated housing, more spacious accommodation needed to be found for the employees and their families within the municipality of Vlissingen. With the help of the city, Ukrainian families now live there together.

What have we done in 2024?

Since 2024 came to a close and 2025 got underway, we as Foundation Damen Support, would like to take a moment to reflect on our journey and present some memorable highlights that we took away from the past year.

Kicking off the New Year with the first-ever Winter Camp

Due to the success of our annual Summer School, we decided to organise our first-ever Winter Camp. It was held in the first week of January in snowy Brasov, Romania, where 29 teenagers enjoyed a week of fun and learning.

Summer School 2024 and the story of Yurii Latushkin

This year’s Summer School was called The Shipbuilder’s Adventure Camp and took place at our Community Centre in Galati, Romania. During the week, a group of 21 teenagers from Ukraine, Romania and Poland were fully engaged in building a real-life miniature vessel.

Supporting Damen Song Cam Employees after Typhoon Yagi

Recently many of our Damen colleagues faced unimaginable challenges and damage to their homes after their lives were disrupted by the super typhoon “Yagi”.

Sports Integration Project 2023

The Sports Integration Project stands out as one of the foremost initiatives in children’s sports in Romania. It was launched in March 2023 following a three-month trial period evaluating various sports activities and assessing children’s reactions.

Easter fundraising campaign Foundation Damen Support

In the weeks before Easter, Foundation Damen Support embarked on something much bigger than just a "casual" fundraising campaign for our Ukrainian colleagues.

Christmas packages for our Ukrainian colleagues

In December 2023, our Ukrainian Damen colleagues received a nicely filled Christmas package full of treats, thanks to all the donations to Foundation Damen Support. These packages were given with the purpose of showing our awareness of our evacuated MDEM colleagues and their circumstances during this extremely difficult time. They were handed out in Uzhhorod and Mykolaiv, Ukraine; Gdansk, Poland; and Galati and Mangalia, Romania.

Foundation Damen Support revisited the Community Centre in Galati

Recently, Foundation Damen Support revisited the Community Centre in Galati, Romania, serving as the home base for evacuated Ukrainian Damen families. This centre, established through donations to the Foundation, proves to be invaluable for Ukrainian children, mothers and grandmothers currently living in the city.

Summer School for Ukrainian youngsters

Damen’s Support Foundation hosted 15 Ukrainian youngsters for a special Summer School in the Netherlands recently and it was a great success. The enthusiastic students, which are the children of our Ukrainian colleagues, attended a packed programme in Vlissingen and Gorinchem (the headquarters of Damen), which combined education and fun. They were introduced to Damen and the world of shipbuilding and treated to activities such as tours of various shipyards and the company's largest superyacht, as well as visits to local museums, workshops, beach activities, and delicious dinners and buffets.

Galați has become the "second home" for hundreds of Ukrainian families

Almost a year after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Galați has become the "second home" for hundreds of refugees who fled the destructive actions of the Russian invaders. Many of the families that found salvation in Romania belong to employees of the company Marine Design Engineering Mykolaiv (MDEM), within the Damen Group.

The ripples of war: One year since the war began

One year has passed since the conflict in Ukraine first began, and the situation remains as complex and volatile as ever, with no end in sight to the fighting or the suffering. It is also increasingly clear that there will be no winners in this war and that Ukraine’s future is ever more fragile. On February 8th 2023, Mrs Annelies Damen returned to Galati in her continue efforts to attract more and more support for the Ukrainian community. A visit was paid to MDEM offices at Damen Galati headquarters where Mrs Damen together with Dana Cristea and Nick Latushkin discussed with our Ukrainian colleagues. Many of them expressed their gratitude to the Foundation as being the major support in their adaptation to a new life. While some ladies showed themselves particularly happy for how their children are taken care of, via different cultural or sporting clubs, others were hiding their tears when being asked about their husbands left home to fight the invaders.

You are in our hearts

Through the Foundation Damen Support, a real difference has made in many lives with the community center as a warm base. The support goes in many ways and with Christmas in prospect there are a view people who wanted to share their personal message. In this article Annelies Damen speaks trough a video message to the colleagues from MDEM and other people in Ukraine, evacuated families in Romania, Poland and The Netherlands: we wanted to let you know that we think of you in this time of the year. Also, a true milestone is being achieved. Annelies received a big cheque from her brother Arnout. The total amount of €160,000 euros is now for the support of our people in Ukraine. And Michel and Michiel share their personal experience when in Galati, which was eye opening.

Annelies Damen and Olena Zhukova opened a first community house in Galati

On Saturday October 8th, Annelies Damen opened officially together with Olena Zhukova a first community house in Galati, to give Ukrainian Damen evacuees a safe place. Children and mothers have now the possibilities to have language lessons, music lessons, educate in a social environment and above all room to play to distract from the war. The opening was after an impressive violin concert and dance and sing performances by Ukrainian children in the public historical library of Galati. Proud we could realize this project by the first donations given to the Damen Support Foundation mainly by our dutch Damen collegues. Many thanks to local community of Galati, our collegues at the Damen Shipyard Galati and all Foundation members. Special thanks to Michel de Reus and Mykolay Latushkin.

An emotional visit to the Damen office in Gdansk

The group was excited, yet silent when Annelies Damen and Jitte Milder (Global Marketing Communication) entered the office of Damen in Gdansk on May 16th. They were a little shy at first, but a feeling of family togetherness bound all together. Seventeen Ukrainian evacuees were gathered around a table in a conference room, normally used for business meetings. Now the room was overloaded with emotions, gratitude and touching attention for all.

Annelies Damen visits Galatí, Romania

Annelies Damen travelled to the shipyard of Damen in Galatí, where hundreds of evacuated colleagues and their families are staying. She spoke to women and children, to understand what help would benefit their scattered lives. Ukrainian evacuees shared many heartbreaking stories. The level of uncertainty in their lives is alarming, that’s why we at Stichting Damen Helpt try to make them feel secure where we can. Up until now in Romania, we helped find housing in apartments, education for children, and health care to provide this security. Amidst all this, a woman gave birth to her child ‘Alexandra’. A wonderful moment for Alexandra’s family and friends. Meanwhile, 35 women have gone back to work in an office building on the yard. This shows that our colleagues' motivation to work is extremely high as they want to keep their job, regain something of a daily life and remain within the Damen family.

Family reunions in Vlissingen

At the yards in Vlissingen, the Netherlands, a number of workers from Ukraine have found employment. Following the invasion of their country, concern about their wives, children and other relatives was immense. Damen has arranged for the evacuation of their loved ones to Vlissingen. While the workers lived together in dedicated housing, more spacious accommodation needed to be found for the employees and their families within the municipality of Vlissingen. With the help of the city, Ukrainian families now live there together.

What have we done in 2024?

Since 2024 came to a close and 2025 got underway, we as Foundation Damen Support, would like to take a moment to reflect on our journey and present some memorable highlights that we took away from the past year.

Kicking off the New Year with the first-ever Winter Camp

Due to the success of our annual Summer School, we decided to organise our first-ever Winter Camp. It was held in the first week of January in snowy Brasov, Romania, where 29 teenagers enjoyed a week of fun and learning.

Summer School 2024 and the story of Yurii Latushkin

This year’s Summer School was called The Shipbuilder’s Adventure Camp and took place at our Community Centre in Galati, Romania. During the week, a group of 21 teenagers from Ukraine, Romania and Poland were fully engaged in building a real-life miniature vessel.

Supporting Damen Song Cam Employees after Typhoon Yagi

Recently many of our Damen colleagues faced unimaginable challenges and damage to their homes after their lives were disrupted by the super typhoon “Yagi”.

Sports Integration Project 2023

The Sports Integration Project stands out as one of the foremost initiatives in children’s sports in Romania. It was launched in March 2023 following a three-month trial period evaluating various sports activities and assessing children’s reactions.

Easter fundraising campaign Foundation Damen Support

In the weeks before Easter, Foundation Damen Support embarked on something much bigger than just a "casual" fundraising campaign for our Ukrainian colleagues.

Christmas packages for our Ukrainian colleagues

In December 2023, our Ukrainian Damen colleagues received a nicely filled Christmas package full of treats, thanks to all the donations to Foundation Damen Support. These packages were given with the purpose of showing our awareness of our evacuated MDEM colleagues and their circumstances during this extremely difficult time. They were handed out in Uzhhorod and Mykolaiv, Ukraine; Gdansk, Poland; and Galati and Mangalia, Romania.

Foundation Damen Support revisited the Community Centre in Galati

Recently, Foundation Damen Support revisited the Community Centre in Galati, Romania, serving as the home base for evacuated Ukrainian Damen families. This centre, established through donations to the Foundation, proves to be invaluable for Ukrainian children, mothers and grandmothers currently living in the city.

Summer School for Ukrainian youngsters

Damen’s Support Foundation hosted 15 Ukrainian youngsters for a special Summer School in the Netherlands recently and it was a great success. The enthusiastic students, which are the children of our Ukrainian colleagues, attended a packed programme in Vlissingen and Gorinchem (the headquarters of Damen), which combined education and fun. They were introduced to Damen and the world of shipbuilding and treated to activities such as tours of various shipyards and the company's largest superyacht, as well as visits to local museums, workshops, beach activities, and delicious dinners and buffets.

Galați has become the "second home" for hundreds of Ukrainian families

Almost a year after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Galați has become the "second home" for hundreds of refugees who fled the destructive actions of the Russian invaders. Many of the families that found salvation in Romania belong to employees of the company Marine Design Engineering Mykolaiv (MDEM), within the Damen Group.

The ripples of war: One year since the war began

One year has passed since the conflict in Ukraine first began, and the situation remains as complex and volatile as ever, with no end in sight to the fighting or the suffering. It is also increasingly clear that there will be no winners in this war and that Ukraine’s future is ever more fragile. On February 8th 2023, Mrs Annelies Damen returned to Galati in her continue efforts to attract more and more support for the Ukrainian community. A visit was paid to MDEM offices at Damen Galati headquarters where Mrs Damen together with Dana Cristea and Nick Latushkin discussed with our Ukrainian colleagues. Many of them expressed their gratitude to the Foundation as being the major support in their adaptation to a new life. While some ladies showed themselves particularly happy for how their children are taken care of, via different cultural or sporting clubs, others were hiding their tears when being asked about their husbands left home to fight the invaders.

You are in our hearts

Through the Foundation Damen Support, a real difference has made in many lives with the community center as a warm base. The support goes in many ways and with Christmas in prospect there are a view people who wanted to share their personal message. In this article Annelies Damen speaks trough a video message to the colleagues from MDEM and other people in Ukraine, evacuated families in Romania, Poland and The Netherlands: we wanted to let you know that we think of you in this time of the year. Also, a true milestone is being achieved. Annelies received a big cheque from her brother Arnout. The total amount of €160,000 euros is now for the support of our people in Ukraine. And Michel and Michiel share their personal experience when in Galati, which was eye opening.

Annelies Damen and Olena Zhukova opened a first community house in Galati

On Saturday October 8th, Annelies Damen opened officially together with Olena Zhukova a first community house in Galati, to give Ukrainian Damen evacuees a safe place. Children and mothers have now the possibilities to have language lessons, music lessons, educate in a social environment and above all room to play to distract from the war. The opening was after an impressive violin concert and dance and sing performances by Ukrainian children in the public historical library of Galati. Proud we could realize this project by the first donations given to the Damen Support Foundation mainly by our dutch Damen collegues. Many thanks to local community of Galati, our collegues at the Damen Shipyard Galati and all Foundation members. Special thanks to Michel de Reus and Mykolay Latushkin.

An emotional visit to the Damen office in Gdansk

The group was excited, yet silent when Annelies Damen and Jitte Milder (Global Marketing Communication) entered the office of Damen in Gdansk on May 16th. They were a little shy at first, but a feeling of family togetherness bound all together. Seventeen Ukrainian evacuees were gathered around a table in a conference room, normally used for business meetings. Now the room was overloaded with emotions, gratitude and touching attention for all.

Annelies Damen visits Galatí, Romania

Annelies Damen travelled to the shipyard of Damen in Galatí, where hundreds of evacuated colleagues and their families are staying. She spoke to women and children, to understand what help would benefit their scattered lives. Ukrainian evacuees shared many heartbreaking stories. The level of uncertainty in their lives is alarming, that’s why we at Stichting Damen Helpt try to make them feel secure where we can. Up until now in Romania, we helped find housing in apartments, education for children, and health care to provide this security. Amidst all this, a woman gave birth to her child ‘Alexandra’. A wonderful moment for Alexandra’s family and friends. Meanwhile, 35 women have gone back to work in an office building on the yard. This shows that our colleagues' motivation to work is extremely high as they want to keep their job, regain something of a daily life and remain within the Damen family.

Family reunions in Vlissingen

At the yards in Vlissingen, the Netherlands, a number of workers from Ukraine have found employment. Following the invasion of their country, concern about their wives, children and other relatives was immense. Damen has arranged for the evacuation of their loved ones to Vlissingen. While the workers lived together in dedicated housing, more spacious accommodation needed to be found for the employees and their families within the municipality of Vlissingen. With the help of the city, Ukrainian families now live there together.

Foundation Damen Support

About

Why?

What will we do?

To achieve this, we need funding. We will try to raise funds by reaching out to all Damen Stakeholders.

What have we done?

Stories from Ukrainian colleagues

Until now

Adults

Children

Euro

kg

Times

Homes

News & updates

What have we done in 2024?

Kicking off the New Year with the first-ever Winter Camp

Summer School 2024 and the story of Yurii Latushkin

Nataliia Turta

Iryna Litvinova

Olena Samarska

Any questions?