Poland: Winter aid for Ukrainian refugees

Essential products for two months

The relief goods will provide two months of support to refugee families who arrived recently in Poland. Another delivery is expected in early 2023, to cover another 6 months. This support is much needed, as the situation is still dire for Ukrainian refugees, explains Łukasz Ostruszka, Pastor of the Evangelical-Augsburg Parish in Krakow. “The situation is challenging. We estimate that there are 200,000 Ukrainian refugees in Krakow, a city of 800’000 inhabitants. With winter approaching and more people coming, we are really worried about what will happen in the next few months.”

“We estimate that there are 200,000 Ukrainian refugees in Krakow, a city of 800’000 inhabitants. With winter approaching and more people coming, we are really worried of what will happen in the next few months.”

Łukasz OSTRUSZKA, Pastor of the Evangelical-Augsburg Parish in Krakow

For the project, the LWF in Poland partners with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland (ECAPC) and its parishes. While LWF has ensured the provision and delivery of the relief goods, the Municipality of Krakow, the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association and the Internationaler Bund Polska support the management of storage and distribution points.

Partnership with scouts and local administration

Two distributions points are available for refugees in the city center and at the Krakow train station. “This place serves as a shop for the items that will be distributed,” says Izabela Kucmin-Bemelmans, from the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association. “We are already making packages for next week. Food packages contain barley, rice and other basic products. People can come and take a package. If it is for a larger family, they can take more packages. We just want to respond to the needs of people”.

Working with local partners allows LWF to understand better the needs and the situation of the people, Julius Kibet, Interim Team Leader for the LWF in Poland: “The needs of the people from Ukraine are changing. With the upcoming delivery of relief goods early next year, we are also looking for a long-term collaboration that will ensure greater support for refugees during winter.”