Appeal from Ukrainian Salesians

Appeal from Ukrainian Salesians: 
“Don’t forget us!”

(ANS – Kyiv, Ukraine – Feb. 28, 2024) – Alina fled with her 3 children from Zuivka in eastern Ukraine in the early hours of February 24, 2022, when a new war had just broken out in the heart of Europe. “It took us a day and a half to get to Kyiv, and for months we lived with some relatives,” Alina recalls. Nine months ago they moved and settled in Mariapolis, the Salesian city of prefabricated modules built in Lviv. It’s a city that hosts almost a thousand people in small homes. The war is also felt in this part of western Ukraine, however. “There are frequent power blackouts to save electricity or due to anti-missile alarms,” explains the young mother.

Mariapolis is one of the projects that the Salesians have been carrying out since the beginning of the war, to provide displaced people there with daily food, fuel for their kitchens, appliances, logistical support, etc., and to instill hope in the needy population. Another of the key projects concerns support in the face of the cold of winter, together with guaranteeing children’s access to education, through the construction of safe shelters in educational centers.

In these two years of conflict, thanks to the solidarity of many people, the Salesian mission office in Madrid, Misiones Salesianas, has sent more than 1.5 million euros in all to support 30 projects from which more than 16,000 people have directly benefited.

According to the most up-to-date estimates, 2 years of war have caused more than 10,000 civilian deaths, including nearly 600 children, and more than 18,000 injuries. In addition, about 200,000 soldiers were killed and 400,000 were wounded on both sides. [President Zelensky of Ukraine stated last weekend that his side has suffered about 31,000 deaths.]

No one is safe in Ukraine. 736 days have passed since the beginning of the Russian invasion, and most of the population continues to suffer the consequences of a conflict that has so far left more than 13.3 million displaced people – most of them refugees in neighboring countries – and almost half of the population – 18 million people – in need of emergency aid to survive.

The Salesians continue to help and be at the side of the displaced population in Ukraine and refugees in neighboring countries, offering basic necessities, housing, and education in emergency situations, health and psychosocial assistance, and the transfer of the elderly to safer areas. “We will continue to be at the side of the population, trying to help and accompany them in everything they need. Thanks to the solidarity of the Salesian Family from all over the world, we have been facing the emergency for 2 years; therefore, we only hope that the people who help us don’t get tired of doing so or forget about us because we still need help and, above all, we want peace to come,” comments Fr. Mykhaylo Chaban, Salesian superior of the vice province in Ukraine.

Source: Salesianos.info