Ukraine Appeal Report June 2023

Nataliia (top) and her two grandchildren Lia aged 8 and Timur aged 10 (pictured above) live with six other families in a converted house in Bielsko-Biala, Poland. Each family has their own room and they share the kitchen, dining room and living spaces. The families support each other where they can.

When the war broke out, the family stayed in Zaporizhzhia, close to Ukraine’s nuclear power plant. But in September 2022, Timur aged 10 went to buy milk and was almost hit by a shell. Half a year later, he still recalls every detail of the experience.

Timur tells his story in a quiet voice: “I heard explosions and rode my bike very fast. I saw a crowd of people. I came closer, and I saw a person lying in blood. People cried, and there was broken glass everywhere. A tree was burning in the city centre. The explosion had thrown a man’s dog away. An ambulance came and took the person that was lying there. He was a power plant worker, and people said he died.” The children began to build border checkpoints from Lego after that experience says his grandmother.

Having a space to live and being close to other Ukrainian families is a great relief, says Nataliia. She has been the children’s caregiver for the past five years. At home, she’s supported by her son and her family. Now the family is scattered: her daughter’s family is in the Netherlands and her son, the children’s father, is in the army. “I cannot be ill. I am now mother, father, and grandmother to them”, she says. She also watches a friend of Timur’s after school while his mother works.

The hostel is part of the work done by our partner the Lutheran World Federation to assist refugees from Ukraine. It is also supported by local churches.

In April, International Programmes Coordinator for Christian World Service, Rob Wayne, visited Poland to meet with local partner, Lutheran World Federation (LWF). LWF provides practical support to refugees and helps them deal with some of the psychological challenges they are facing. LWF runs programmes in six centres: Gdansk, Wroclaw, Ostróda, Zgierz, Bytom Miechowice and Bielsko-Biała. 75% of LWF staff are Ukrainians. Rob monitored the use of New Zealand government funding and met with recent refugees.

“The programme was well organised to meet the needs of the people and has adapted as the needs changed,” reports Rob.

In the first stage, LWF assisted over 2,600 people with three monthly cash transfers to eligible families, provided safe spaces and psychosocial support for women and children, and helped people with disabilities. Many of them have now found work, received assistance from the Polish government, or received pensions from Ukraine although these are not to support their families. In November last year, LWF switched to a focus on providing psychosocial and other help.

In Warsaw, Rob met with LWF’s local Polish partner assisting people living with disabilities. As well as providing physiotherapy, occupational therapy and guidance on parenthood and sexuality, the partner was introducing some people with disabilities to extreme sports! People could try parachute jumping and deep diving to encourage them to overcome obstacles. Funding from CWS also provided wheelchairs to ten people who needed them.

Yuliia who runs the Wroclaw Centre told Rob, “We like to show refugees that life has not ended. When you feel happier you can help other people.”