Children and refugees, a priority after six months of war in Ukraine
"The situation in Ukraine was really horrible. We had to leave everything behind", explains Kira. A young refugee girl in Slovakia. Kira was taken in by Salesian missionaries in Bratislava. "They took me in, fed me and brought me clothes. All for free. I was very impressed. I got to know true kindness", adds the young woman. Today she works with the missionaries as a volunteer and interpreter.
During these six months, humanitarian needs have not stopped growing: more than 13 million people have had to leave their homes, nearly 16 million people need emergency aid to survive, more than 5.7 million children are out of school? Salesian missionaries in Ukraine and in countries such as Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Moldova have always been at the side of the population, especially minors, displaced persons and refugees. "We have taken in and given shelter, we have distributed food and basic necessities to the refugees and to the people who remain in Ukraine, we have distributed warm clothes...", they explain from the centre where the emergency is being coordinated in Poland. "The Salesian missionaries in Ukraine are taking care of the distributions, even in the most dangerous areas and near the front lines," adds Luis Manuel Moral, director of the Salesian Missions.
"After all these months in which the response to the emergency was urgent, in the medium term our work will focus on three areas: the right to education in emergency situations; care for refugees; and trying to alleviate the effects of the arrival of winter. All in a context of great uncertainty," explains Moral. In Ukraine, more than 2,200 schools have been severely damaged or completely destroyed. In addition, another 3,500 schools are not fit for the new school year as they are being used to accommodate displaced people, according to figures from the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Children are one of our priorities. "Children who are victims of war need even more attention from us. We have to help them cope with the trauma of having divided families, of witnessing violence and destruction, of having left their homes", explains Salesian missionary George Menamparampil, coordinator of the Salesian response to the emergency in Ukraine.
From the Salesian Missions we have already sent 400,000 euros to alleviate the most severe consequences of this war to the most affected population. We would also like to remind you that the Emergency Ukraine campaign is still open and that on 1 September the collective exhibition Life in a Suitcase. Stories of an armed conflict, in which Bruno Thevenin, Edu León, Ioana Moldovan and Olmo Calvo bring us closer to the reality of war.