Two months after the outbreak of war:
short report about relief efforts in polish provinces of Society.

For the first time in the history of Poland, more than 2,9 millions of refugees have arrived in our country. Previously, migrants tended to avoid Poland. Partly probably because the more developed countries of the European community were more attractive. The Jesuits in Poland have so far run one centre for refugees. Now, the scale of migration from Ukraine has led many Jesuit institutions in Poland to engage in relief efforts for Ukraine.

In many Jesuit works, Jesuits and their collaborators have spontaneously organised themselves to receive refugees. Often, it was possible to receive people relatively quickly, because the communities had guest rooms. It was enough to adapt them by organizing kitchen annexes or laundry rooms. In Gdynia and Wroclaw, it was decided to designate parish rooms for the reception of refugees. This in turn required additional renovation work: the appropriate furnishing of rooms, the installation of showers, cookers and washing machines. Thanks to these measures taken in March, we were able to welcome 24 people in Wrocław and 12 additional people in Gdynia.

Very different life situations

The refugees received in our homes are in very different life situations. Some of them fled from the east, leaving their homes in the midst of warfare. Others come from western Ukraine and some of them, after spending a few weeks in our homes, have already decided to return to Ukraine. The vast majority of those hosted are women with children. Each situation is unique - there are mothers with disabled children, infants, elderly people but also young people and people in their prime. These people are very grateful for the help they have been given and volunteer to help. In Gdynia, the guests became involved in reloading incoming humanitarian aid, in Bytom they volunteered at a local food distribution point. Many have also already found work. Last month was special as hosts and guest celebrated together Easter.

Language courses

Some Jesuit institutions are involved in organizing Polish language courses for refugees. Such courses have been opened at the Jesuit University in Kraków, at the Jesuit Social Centre in Warsaw, at the Jesuit Education Centre in Nowy Sącz, and at the Parish of St Ignatius Loyola and St Andrew Bobola in Jastrzębia Góra. A total of 240 people attend classes in all of these places. In Nowy Sącz, apart from offering a language course, art and integration classes for children and young people were also organised. Since the initiative is very popular, a small cultural centre for Ukrainians will soon be opened. The premises for this point have already been refurbished.

Humanitarian aid

There are also ongoing campaigns to send humanitarian aid to Ukraine. In this kind of relief efforts especially engaged is community in Gdynia. Six large transports from the West have already arrived there. In total, they have been loaded with over 75 tones. The imported products are segregated in Gdynia by a team of over a dozen volunteers, and then distributed to various places in Ukraine. They were sent, among others, to Rivne, Lviv and Kharkiv. In addition, in Gdynia, as well as in Jastrzębia Góra, in Jesuit parishes, there are local points distributing food, clothing, chemical products and cosmetics. In March, every day about 100 people a day came to the point in Jastrzębia Góra for help. At the same time, employers began to advertise job offers in the point's building.

Jesuits for Ukraine

In March and early April, our team "Jesuits for Ukraine" supported the efforts of the Malta Volunteer Service, the Friends of the Saint Omer Foundation for Transatlantic Values, Kirchen Helfen - Prättigau and JRS Portugal. Thanks to the commitment of these organisations, 477 refugees have found new homes in Switzerland, France and Portugal. Find more information on the special web site Jesuits for Ukraine

It is now two months since the outbreak of war. After the first, often spontaneous, actions, the time has come to organise and coordinate the aid efforts wisely. This is all the more urgent, because every day there are more and more displaced people.

Krzysztof Dudek SJ