Late February 2022, life changed overnight for the 44 million people of Ukraine.
Following a large-scale invasion of the country by Russian forces, millions were forced to flee their homes. Others stayed back and suited up to join resistance efforts. Despite how people mobilized, in a matter of days, one thing became very clear: the country and its people needed resources, and it needed them quickly.
Across the world, humanitarian relief workers sprang into action to provide on the ground support and to field donations. Organizations began to identify the best ways they could help out in some form — be it monetary, through essential services, or pivoting operations to better serve those directly impacted by the war.
One of these organizations was freelance talent marketplace Upwork. We sat down with Ignacio Lizarralde, a member of Upwork's engineering team, to learn how in a matter of days the team was able to get a multi-part relief campaign up and running to help its community of freelancers, clients, and the people of Ukraine.
Supporting its dense network in eastern Europe
From the very first day of the crisis, the team at Upwork was acutely aware of the sizable impact it would likely have on their community. Not only are hundreds of freelancers who depend on the platform for work based in Ukraine, Russia, and eastern Europe, but also a number of the company’s direct team members reside in the region. As a result, Upwork knew they needed to take swift action and offer support to those impacted in whatever way they could, leading the team to map out three critical work streams.
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