(NewsNation) — Inspired by the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II, two Harvard freshmen have created a way to help those fleeing Ukraine find housing.
Avi Schiffmann and Marco Burstein created “Ukraine Take Shelter” after watching millions of Ukrainians being forced to leave their homes.
“I have the skills to make websites and apps and all that kind of stuff,” said Schiffmann. “And I have this big public following on social media. So I felt that I could combine the two and really make something like a direct, practical, useful tool for the people in Ukraine.”
That’s when he called Burstein, who is a friend and web developer.
“We just stayed up all night working on this website. And we managed to make it in like a few days,” said Schiffmann.
Their goal was to make something as easy to use as possible.
“If you’re a refugee, you don’t necessarily have time to be scrolling through pages and pages of documentation,” said Burstein.
The process is simple. Users enter the nearest city and can instantly see who is offering shelter for refugees.
Ukraine Take Shelter already has 7,000 listings across Europe.
“We’ve had so many success stories from refugees getting successful sanctuary because of this website,” said Schiffmann. “I think that’s incredible that me and Marco here in the United States can develop this website that is then used across the entire world.”
To learn more about Ukraine Take Shelter, click here.