Nate Mook: NGOs are the 'glue' supporting Ukraine’s people through war

Nate Mook, CEO of the disaster-relief nonprofit All Hands and Hearts, described on the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe’s podcast how humanitarian work in Ukraine has evolved from emergency feeding to longer-term community support.

Mook said his teams first deployed food operations at border crossings within days of Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion and later moved inside Ukraine to help communities that remained. “We were operating supporting all of these, Ukrainians, mostly women and children that were trying to get away from the bombing,” he said, describing rapid feeding efforts at border crossings in Poland, Slovakia, Moldova, Romania and Hungary.

He said that as the conflict stabilized in some areas, the organization shifted toward projects aimed at everyday functioning — repairing schools that operate underground in places like Kharkiv, equipping prosthetic centers, and delivering mental-health and vocational supports. “We can come in and say, great, we’re going to help you equip your schools, make sure kids have what they need,” Mook said.

Mook described building an extensive local workforce: “We ended up building a massive operation for about 4,000. We had about 4,500 Ukrainians ... working for us in our warehouses, in our restaurants and delivery drivers.” He framed that local hiring and partnerships with Ukrainian organizations as essential to rapid, scalable responses.

The guest also outlined one large-scale winter project: retrofitting railway cars as mobile shelters with generators and satellite internet to provide warm, safe spaces where local electricity or heating was knocked out. He said Ukrainian Railways supplied the cars while NGOs provided equipment; more than 25,000 families used the cars during the winter season, he said.

Mook, who serves on the board of Save Ukraine, emphasized a need for services that follow emergency rescue efforts. He said Save Ukraine had helped bring more than 1,300 children out of occupied territory and then worked to arrange longer-term mental-health, educational and social supports for those youngsters. “When the children and families get rescued, there needs to be a support structure around them,” he said.

Asked why Americans should remain engaged, Mook urged reframing support as aligned with U.S. national-security and innovation interests, not only as charity. He noted that Ukraine has become a source of defense innovation and that cooperation can be mutually beneficial. “Ukraine is not a charity case. Ukraine is a valuable partner, right, and an asset to the United States,” he said.

Throughout the interview, Mook highlighted the role of smaller, nimble interventions — supplying materials, equipping underground schools and funding targeted community services — that larger infrastructure funding cannot easily reach. He said his organization focuses where it can move quickly and have an everyday impact on families and children.

The podcast concluded with Mook praising bipartisan oversight and outreach by the Helsinki Commission and urging continued public engagement and donor support for on-the-ground services in Ukraine.

The interview was recorded for a Commission podcast and will be excerpted for short online clips.