The following story, written by Diana Shpak, AHF Europe Knowledge Management Focal Point, is a special feature on AHF partner Fundacja HelpNowHUB in Poland, a recipient of the AHF Partnership Fund.
AHF partner, Fundacja HelpNowHUB, empowers women through dance workshops.
Hanna Ariabińska, President of Fundacja HelpNowHUB, shares why grant support matters for organizations working with vulnerable communities. Through Fundacja HelpNowHUB’s experience, Hanna shows how targeted support can become a lifeline, helping expand care, strengthen outreach, and reach people who need support the most.
Fundacja HelpNowHUB is a non-governmental organization that was registered in Poland in October 2023. It was founded by Ukrainian refugee women living with HIV, many of whom came to Poland with their children after the war began. The organization helps Ukrainian refugees, people living with HIV, women affected by war, people with disabilities, and youth navigate healthcare, social services, and daily life in Poland. Their team has walked this path themselves, and they meet people with trust and real understanding.
Fundacja HelpNowHUB provides online consultations throughout Poland and worldwide. In Bydgoszcz, Białystok, Warsaw, Gdańsk, Wrocław and Kraków, in-person (offline) client support is also available.
With support from the AHF Partnership Fund, Fundacja HelpNowHUB helped people affected by war and migration continue accessing treatment, care and essential support.
The AHF Partnership Fund’s grant made it possible to provide peer-to-peer counseling for people living with HIV and key populations, and to bring mobile HIV/STI testing closer to people facing the greatest barriers, including people with disabilities, limited mobility, and hidden communities. The grant also enabled the organization to provide WENDŌ empowerment and self-defense training for migrant women, helping them build confidence, set boundaries, and respond to harassment and violence.
Through this project, Fundacja HelpNowHUB responded to the urgent realities of war and migration by reducing barriers to healthcare, supporting people through trauma and stigma, and creating safer pathways to care for those most in need.
The project was implemented through a flexible, community-based approach. Fundacja HelpNowHUB provided peer-to-peer counseling online and in person, organized WENDŌ trainings for women in three cities, and carried out mobile HIV/STI testing in places where people could be reached directly.
Program participants attend a WENDŌ empowerment and self-defense training, which was developed for women and girls.
Special attention was given to people with disabilities, people with limited mobility, and mothers with limited time, including through home testing and cooperation with local partners.
To date, Fundacja HelpNowHUB has provided 2,077 individual consultations for people living with HIV and key populations, held five WENDŌ trainings for 51 women, and exceeded its testing targets by reaching 403 people with HIV testing and 141 with STI testing. The project also supported 61 people with disabilities or limited mobility and strengthened community awareness through 27 communication posts.
Through WENDŌ trainings, this work had a strong impact. It helped women improve their personal safety and gave them the ability to say “no” without guilt. They could reconnect with their strength, confidence, and voice. Through counseling, outreach, and testing, the project helped reduce fear and stigma around HIV, while psychological support for the Fundacja HelpNowHUB team helped prevent burnout.
AHF’s Partnership Fund helped Fundacja HelpNowHUB strengthen its work and move toward more stable, structured community support. This work is not only about numbers. It is about people who were forced to leave their homes but still need treatment, safety, dignity, and support.
For people living with HIV, continuity of care can be lifesaving. For women affected by war and violence, empowerment can become a lifeline. For people with disabilities and hidden communities, outreach may be the only way to access testing and care. Fundacja HelpNowHUB is deeply grateful to the AHF Partnership Fund for this support, which has helped turn a small but well-organized grant into meaningful, life-changing care for people facing some of the greatest challenges during an acute humanitarian crisis.
