Salesians Care for Children and Refugees

While War Rages, Salesians Care for Children and Refugees

A group of Ukrainian refugees arrived in Sicily

(ANS – Rome – March 17, 2022) – “The children are afraid. As soon as the air-raid sirens start to sound, they run for shelter in the basements. We keep trying to help them in every possible manner. Currently there are many people who have arrived from the eastern regions here. This is life now.... And we are afraid too.” So says Lesia, one of the people currently residing in the Salesian house at Bibrka, not far from Lviv in western Ukraine.

“When an airplane flies over us, the children run to the windows. And they say to each other, ‘Whose is it? Ah, okay, it’s Ukrainian.’ Unfortunately, even the youngest children understand a little of what’s happening around them,” say the Salesians.

As the third week of the war draws to a close, the situation in Ukraine is becoming increasingly painful for many people. The Salesians, all of them of the 2 SDB provinces in the country, remain firmly at the side of the needy and, supported by international solidarity, continue to resist and to give hope, relief, comfort, and every kind of help to those in need.

The solidarity fund set up by the Salesian Coordination Team in Rome for the response to the emergency in Ukraine continues to receive donations from all over the world. Sometimes they are large sums of money, sometimes smaller donations, but like so many drops of water, they all go together to form a sea of good that translates into concrete and tangible help for those who are now left with just the clothes on their backs and little else.

Don Bosco Mission Bonn is receiving a large quantity of medicines from Action Medeor, the largest medical aid organization in Europe, which operates as the “emergency pharmacy of the world.” Thanks to the direct connections always maintained with the Ukrainian and Polish Salesians, the medicines and medical devices can be delivered directly to Ukraine.

As well as food aid: the Salesians of Krakow sent a new load of food to Kiev on March 16.

People in the U.S. and Canada may assist the Salesians of Ukraine and Poland thru Salesian Missions and the New Rochelle Province treasurer’s office.

In addition to the much-needed help to those who have remained in Ukraine, the work of welcoming refugees in various countries is also being renewed. The 48 people – women and children – picked up in a minibus by the Don Bosco 2000 Association, in collaboration with the Salesians’ Sicily Province, have arrived at their destination. The first photos taken of them on Italian soil convey the image of faces that are tired and frightened, but still capable of sketching a smile.

It should also be emphasized that several Salesian entities are receiving requests for further information and offers of donations from people and organizations with whom they were not in contact before: a sign that the good work done, together with the high attention to communication on the good done, are bearing fruit.

Finally, while the work of accompanying and welcoming refugees continues at full speed, the Salesians are also sounding the alarm raised by various NGOs active on the borders of Ukraine regarding the risks of human trafficking by unscrupulous individuals and organizations.