TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The International Cooperation and Development Fund sent an official to Ukraine three times in the past year to support its humanitarian programs, reports said Friday.

Humanitarian Assistance Department Division Chief Wu Ching-i (吳靜怡) told the fund’s podcast, “Team Taiwan Travels the World,” that the trips were needed to monitor program progress and assess local needs. She previously worked on humanitarian projects in Jordan, Turkey, and Uganda.

In Ukraine, the fund runs programs including psychological counseling for children affected by the war and financial assistance for women starting businesses, per CNA.

Wu said that before each trip she told her mother she was traveling to Poland, and her mother still does not know she visited a war zone.

During a stay in Kyiv, Wu said she experienced missile and drone attacks and woke up to the smell of explosives. She also saw memorials to fallen soldiers, showing mostly young faces, which underscored the need for long-term support of the kind provided by the fund for people affected by war and violence, she said.

The fund publishes its podcasts on Youtube, with the two latest episodes featuring Wu scheduled for release Friday and Jan. 16.