One Year of the Ukraine
War
Report on intense
Salesian efforts
(ANS – Warsaw – February 23, 2023) – Feb. 24 marked one year since the beginning
of the war in Ukraine. The Salesian Emergency Coordination in Ukraine comments:
“It’s an anniversary that we all would have preferred to forget. We sincerely
wish that this war had never started. But it wasn’t our choice. We could only
face its devastating consequences.”
In view of this sad occasion, the Warsaw-based
coordination team, which organized the implementation of aid to the victims in
Ukraine and surrounding countries, presents a short summary and assessment of
what has been accomplished in these months of much suffering and generosity,
while expressing gratitude to all its benefactors, large and small.
A total of more than €9.6 million was raised
and used for aid, thanks to the contributions of 66 entities, organizations,
and communities from six continents. The projects implemented and supported
included the construction of emergency shelters, support for refugees abroad
and internally displaced persons, educational programs for children and youths,
the special emergency plan to cope with winter, as well as general support for
managing such a complex situation.
Here is what Krzysztof Grzendzinski, head of
the Warsaw Coordination Team, reports:
Since the beginning of March 2022, the
Coordination Team for Ukraine Emergency has witnessed the great solidarity of
the Salesian Family toward the victims of the war in Ukraine. Thanks to the
support of many mission offices, Salesian organizations and provinces, and the
Emergency Response Coordinator of the Salesian Congregation – Fr. George
Menamparampil, assisted by the Don Bosco Network coordinator, Fonny Grootjans,
in the first months and Angel Gudiña more recently. Thanks to this, we have
carried out over 100 humanitarian aid projects – including the provision of
material aid (food, clothes, blankets, heating units, and other such items),
psychological support, legal assistance, language classes, formal and
non-formal education, and recreational activities for the Ukrainian children.
During 2022, as a coordination team, we organized 20 humanitarian aid convoys
to Ukraine, where the items were distributed with the help of our Salesian brothers
and sisters across Ukraine.
In close cooperation with other Polish
Salesian provinces, we are supporting refugees who now reside in our country.
Almost a year after the war began, there are still guests from Ukraine in
Salesian houses all over Poland (currently about 250 people), and our main goal
now is to help them to find work and become independent. The process of finding
a job is very challenging. In some of the small cities where the Salesian houses
are, opportunities for work are either very seasonal or almost completely
lacking. Whenever it is possible, local Salesians involve or employ the
Ukrainian refugees in their facilities – maintaining the building, cooking,
caring for children. The team also conducted a survey to discover the
qualifications and education levels among the refugees staying, and are trying
to match the jobs to the people who are available for work.
For several months, we have been happily
observing the process of integration of Ukrainians, especially children, into
Polish society, and we are happy to contribute to their safety and proper
development. Lots of these people are dealing with the trauma caused by the
events they have experienced, which is why we as a coordination team place a
strong emphasis on ensuring that psychological support is available for them at
all times.
On a daily basis, we maintain contact with
Salesian communities in Ukraine and try to respond, as quickly and efficiently
as possible, to the needs they present on behalf of the people they help
locally and in the other parts of the country. Support is provided to the
residents of the Salesian parishes in Ukraine (Greek Catholic and Roman
Catholic). This support reaches the numerous internally displaced
persons, local schools, and centers for young people who have lost their
parents. A particular focus is given to helping people from the areas most
heavily attacked by the Russians.
Also, Salesians are delivering help to the eastern
parts of Ukraine, the part of the country most affected by war activities. The
prevailing winter conditions are having a very serious negative impact on the
people and their need for aid and support. Salesians have continued to provide
aid in recognition of these needs over the last months. Low temperatures,
frequent power outages, food shortages and, above all, incessant attacks in
various parts of the country are making life very difficult for Ukrainians,
especially those who have lost their homes and property due to the war. That is
why it is so important that we, as the Salesian Family, keep up our efforts to
provide aid. In the first days of 2023 two trucks with food items reached the
warehouse established in cooperation with the Greek-Catholic vice province in
Ukraine as part of the “Winterisation” project. With the continued help of our
donors and partners, we plan to keep filling the warehouse with items necessary
to help people in need.
An ongoing task and responsibility recognized
by the coordination team is the duty of ensuring that all processes
related to the implementation and financing of projects are transparent and
clear, and that the aid provided is properly documented. This not only avoids
dual funding of projects, but most importantly allows us to verify the most urgent
needs and prioritize them. This is possible, thanks to very good communication
and networking between the mission offices, the coordination team, and the
Salesians working in Ukraine.
While responsible for coordination, we not
only keep an eye on and support the process of matching needs with the donor
agencies, but also apply for the funds ourselves. In this way we were able to
implement two projects using funds from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This enabled us to purchase food and non-food items and 4 vehicles to help with
the distribution of the humanitarian aid within Ukraine itself.
None of this would be possible without the
support of generous and open-hearted donors around the world. On the team’s
behalf and on behalf of Ukrainian people, I would like to say a sincere and
deepfelt thank you for the help and solidarity you show as donors on a daily
basis.
We all hope that the war will soon end, and
that the humanitarian aid carried by the Salesians will be replaced by
development aid aimed at rebuilding the country.
Aid may be sent for Ukraine thru Salesian
Missions of New Rochelle: Ukraine Emergency -
Salesian Missions
