Salesians Haven't Forgotten Ukraine's Refugees

Salesians Haven’t Forgotten Ukraine’s Refugees

(ANS – Rome – May 16, 2022) - The campaign of humanitarian support made necessary by the war in Ukraine continues its silent but daily efforts to meet the most basic needs of those families who, because of the war, seek refuge and accompaniment outside Ukraine. Attention to the real needs of others, generosity, and creativity are the hallmarks of a commitment that continues unabated and without borders.

From Italy come testimonies about two significant welcoming experiences. The first comes directly from the Salesian Motherhouse: “Currently in Valdocco, in Turin, we are hosting 16 Ukrainian boys who are part of a rowing team,” says Fr. Alberto Goia, youth ministry delegate for the Salesians of Piedmont, Valle d’Aosta, and Lithuania. “They range from 12 to 17 years old and they arrived with their coach right after Easter. When we welcomed them they were bewildered, yet they immediately showed a desire for normality.”

Normality that also passes through the possibility of practicing the sport that united them and that punctuated their pre-war lives: “They could not get over the fact that they were able to see their friends again, to be together and be able to train again. In fact, thanks to the association Gli amici del fiume (The Friends of the River), they have resumed sports activities, which means so much to these boys,” Fr. Goia continues.

But that’s not all: because for the sense of normalcy few things are as strong as culinary habits. “There are some Ukrainian women living in Turin who have made themselves available to cook their typical dishes, which is important for the boys because it’s not easy to adapt immediately to different flavors. Rediscovering familiar food is a way to feel welcome while still maintaining a connection to their homeland. It’s necessary to take into account that these minors have left not only their homes but also their parents, with fathers being called to fight.”

The second experience is underway at the Salesian Don Bosco Oratory of St. Francis of Assisi parish in Terni, where an ad hoc Italian language course has been created to offer the possibility for Ukrainians in the city to communicate without the need for a language mediator. Not only are professors teaching, but also and especially high school students, who immediately responded to the appeal of the parish priests. The project, carried out in cooperation with the social services of the City of Terni, was the initiative of the Salesians.

“The objective of this course is not only to teach them Italian but also to make new friends,” explains Alessandro, a student and now also a ‘professor.’  Walks have also been organized for the young refugees, so they can discover the city where they now live; while the younger ones, once the Italian lesson is over, move to the little playing field of the oratory and initiate shared play with other children and young people.

In Spain, instead, the solidarity campaign launched by the Madrid Province and the NGO Bosco Global, aimed at supporting some 30 refugees in the Polish cities of Gdansk, Lubrza, and Szczecin, continues and will now also have two new reception points in Spain, in La Almunia and Burriana.

“We continue to raise funds. All donations that will come to the accounts of the province and Bosco Global will be destined for specific projects to assist people who are victims of the war in Ukraine,” explains Fr. José Luis Navarro, coordinator of provincial mission animation and the Campaign for the Ukrainian Emergency. “We will manage the projects proposed by the Coordination Center in Warsaw, and we will also take care, depending on the needs and the amounts collected, of the direct assistance projects that are being established in the Salesian houses of our province.”

Finally, another initiative worth highlighting comes from Malta and concerns the journalistic and humanitarian venture of reporters Neil Camilleri and Giuseppe Attard of the newspaper Malta Independent. The two traveled to Ukraine between March 28 and April 7, visiting cities such as Lviv and Kiev. They witnessed the tragedy of war and its scars in locations such as Irpin and Bucha. During their stay, they also interviewed many refugees housed by the Salesians in Ukraine, Poland, and Slovakia, which is why they are now producing a documentary about their recent experience in Ukraine, to raise funds for refugees living under the care of the Salesians of Don Bosco. That documentary will be available exclusively on GO TV starting May 23.

Polish Salesians and Others Assist Ukraine's Refugees

“There are more good people than you might think.”

(ANS – Warsaw – March 24, 2022) – The hard work of the Salesian Family around the world for the Ukraine emergency continues at full pace. The greatest burden of responsibility and practical work in the field at this stage falls on the Salesian works in Poland, which are giving their best not only to welcome the refugees, but also to convey their affection and human feeling for them.

“They asked us what we needed as soon as we arrived; they offered us everything, they gave us everything, they helped us with everything.... We will never forget them,” says Lydia, a Ukrainian refugee in Poland, about the welcome she received from so many Polish volunteers.

Lydia arrived in Warsaw from Dnipro, in eastern Ukraine, after 4 intense days of travel, together with her children, while her husband remained in Ukraine. They are worried, of course, “but we have hope in a peaceful future, which will come soon,” says the woman. Supporting her in her confidence is also the experience of solidarity she has received in this circumstance: “There are more good people around than you might think and, in these situations, you can see why they do everything with their heart,” she confided to Alberto Lopez, whom the Salesian Mission Office of Madrid sent to Poland.

Also coming from Poland is an initiative of solidarity carried out by some students from the Salesian schools of Pila, who brought food, clothing, and other materials to Poznan to be distributed to Ukrainian families. And another story of hope, again from Poland, specifically from Przemysl, just 9 miles from the border with Ukraine: that of Yana, Zlata, and Lev – a young Ukrainian mother and 2 children – who, thanks to the efforts of the Salesians of the city of Civitanova Marche in the Central Italy Province, are now safe from the war in that town in the Marche region.

“It was a truly moving experience,” said Fr. Alessio Massimi, director of the Civitanova Marche youth center. “We arrived in Przemysl at the Salesian house and unloaded the van loaded with so much generosity from our parishioners. During the days that we were there, we went to the center where the refugees are being received, a large shopping center, and we made ourselves available to do anything. We found a great organization. We, in particular, made the beds every day, because people were accepted but the next day they left for various destinations, some in Italy, some in Portugal, some in Spain, depending on where they wanted to go. On our return we picked up Yana, Zlata, and little Lev to take them to Civitanova, where their grandmother Natalia is waiting for them.”

The provincial of Sicily, Fr. Giovanni d’Andrea, informed ANS about reception developments in that province too: “We are finishing the placement of single-parent ‘mother-child’ units with ‘support families,’ so as to create a ‘broad-based accommodation.’ Today, with the help of a mediator, 4 children we welcomed, together with their mothers, have been included in the socio-educational activities of the Salesians’ Our Lady of La Salette Youth Center in Catania.”

Other news of solidarity arrives from South Korea, where between the disbursement of the province and the donations coming from other Catholic organizations, the Salesian coordination for the response to the emergency has brought in a large sum of money intended for the refugees. From the United States West Province, a single work, that of Bellflower, has collected a large sum of offerings that will be forwarded to the Salesian Mission Office of New Rochelle. In Great Britain, the entire community of the school of Chertsey, animated by the parent of a student who is an expert in finance and computer science, is involved in a major project to collect materials and programs to enable young Ukrainian refugees to follow lessons by videoconference from schools in their country.