IWC donation project 2026

 

This year`s donation marathon until our International Friendship Event

in June 13, 2026 will be in favour of:

 

Existentia e.V.

Your donation will go to fund the special trauma therapy program.

 

Please support this campaign generously!

 

Bank account Postbank:

The International Womens Club of Frankfurt e.V.

IBAN: DE82 5001 0060 0058 9876 06

Reference: Donation IFF/name

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About Existentia e.V.

Soon, the war in Ukraine will enter its fourth year. A war that Russia brought into Ukraine and that Vladimir Putin is waging with an inhumanity previously unimaginable. Day after day, news reaches us that shocks us, leaves us stunned, and often renders us speechless. War is one of the gravest crimes that can be inflicted upon a human being. For all of us, this war—taking place so close to home—is also a test of our humanity.

It was from this conviction that the association Existentia e.V. was founded three years ago. At the heart of our work is supporting people in Ukraine who are in existential distress. We seek to counter the despair in which many Ukrainians still find themselves today with solidarity, concrete assistance, and long-term support.

The founders of the association, Ulrike von Waitz and film director Elwira Niewiera, met shortly after the beginning of the large-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. Together they decided to organize humanitarian aid for Ukraine. A few months earlier, Elwira Niewiera had shot the documentary The Hamlet Syndrome in Ukraine—about young people who have been living with the horrors of war and severe trauma since 2014. Through this work she had established close contacts on the ground. Existentia e.V. is the consistent continuation of this shared commitment.

 A central focus of our work lies on the long-term consequences of the war, particularly the devastation it leaves in the bodies and souls of women. Violence against women in war is still often suppressed or overlooked. Rape and torture are systematically used as weapons to break women and destabilize entire societies—also in Ukraine.

In close cooperation with renowned Ukrainian psychologists and therapists, Existentia e.V. has therefore launched a specialized trauma therapy program. It is aimed at Ukrainian women who have survived Russian captivity, torture, and sexualized violence. Over a period of one and a half years, they accompany these women therapeutically in the remote Ukrainian Carpathians - far from the front lines and everyday life. The retreats offer a protected space in which the women can name and acknowledge the injustice they have suffered. The therapeutic process is deeply emotional, with moments of anger and grief, but also of resilience, relief, and the first steps toward acceptance and inner stabilization.

The rehabilitation stays take place in small groups of seven women each and are accompanied by three experienced therapists. Each group meets over a period of one and a half years for six intensive one-week therapy phases, which are part of a long-term program. The therapeutic work includes group and individual therapy, Gestalt therapy, bodywork, as well as daily morning and evening circles. The goal is to gradually enable the women to regain access to themselves, their bodies, and their surroundings. Our hope is that these women can find their way back into life and shape their future anew with courage, strength, and hope.

To achieve a sustainable impact, the program requires continuous funding. This includes the costs for therapy spaces, accommodation, meals, therapists’ fees, as well as travel and organizational expenses.

Beyond this, Existentia e.V. sees itself not only as a therapeutic companion but also as a human and legal support. The horrors endured should not be spoken only within protected therapy spaces, but should also be heard publicly—before courts, in society, and in the realm of political responsibility. Because healing requires recognition, and justice begins with listening to the voices of those affected.

https://www.existentia-ev.org/

President Yun Kruse