Vatican News / Piotr Kowalczuk
A Package for Ukraine
Caritas Poland has been assisting Ukraine since 2014, following the annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of the war in the Donbas. This support increased significantly in 2022 when Russia launched its military attack on Ukraine. At that time, as Ms. Mocior recalls, the “Package for Ukraine” initiative was launched. Caritas Poland handled the collection and transport of the packages. “It was a set of food and hygiene products that could last for several weeks,” says Ms. Mocior. “It was a very wonderful campaign. In an act of solidarity, sympathy, and compassion for Ukrainians, donors packed various gifts into the boxes in addition to basic necessities, such as children’s toys and letters with well wishes and spiritual support.” In total, more than 90,000 Ukrainian families received such packages from Poland.
Family to Family
The history of the program began with Polish parishes collecting financial aid for those in need. The program was established 10 years ago to support families in need in Syria, and later in Palestine and Lebanon. Since 2022, it has also included Ukraine. Under this program, poor families facing difficult situations receive financial support. “In Ukraine, we are currently doing this in the form of grants—either for training or for starting a small business. We support agricultural activity and entrepreneurship. We want people to become self-reliant and rebuild their lives,” says Ms. Nocior.
Family in the Center
War causes more than just material losses. It has a devastating impact on our mental health, says Ms. Mocior. The “Family in the Center” program has been implemented in Ukraine for almost three years in four cities: Kamianets-Podilskyi, Zhytomyr, Odesa, and Kharkiv. “We run Family Support Centers where we help veterans and their families. The project is financed from the state budget as part of Polish development cooperation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.” Each center has its own psychologists. Demobilized veterans returning home, and naturally their families, often need psychological and psychosocial support. “We make sure they have a place to meet, to integrate rather than isolate,” explains Ms. Mocior. “A particularly special activity, and one that I am personally involved in, is camps for veterans and their families. These are 7-day intensive camps aimed at rebuilding couples’ relationships, as well as therapy and rehabilitation for veterans. We conduct both group and individual sessions.”
The Problem of Isolation
Ms. Mocior co-leads these camps and is leaving for another one in a few days. She says many women are afraid to ask their husbands what happened at war: “In general, it is hard for them to talk. Veterans say it is really very difficult to return home. Often they do not know how to start a conversation or express their needs, which is why they isolate themselves. This makes the mental health crisis much deeper.” Mr. Mocior (sic) points out that some veterans return from the front with very dramatic memories that they cannot forget. Often, time is unable to heal these wounds. Many suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. A very large proportion of veterans are individuals who were wounded in the war.
“I’m No Longer Useful”
“Often for various reasons, such as health, soldiers are forcibly sent home. Very frequently this causes psychological trauma,” says Ms. Mocior. “The veteran feels that they failed, couldn’t handle it, were too weak, and are no longer good for anything. This is often accompanied by ‘survivor’s guilt.’ A veteran’s return home is very difficult.
“The challenge is enormous. Suddenly, a whole new social group with very specific needs has emerged: soldiers, veterans, and their families dealing with war trauma. We need specialists with experience in this kind of work. I have been dealing with war trauma for 15 years, so I am a sort of natural resource for Caritas Poland, which operates in Ukraine. I train specialists, conduct therapy, and co-lead camps,” says Ms. Nocior.
Helping Ukrainian Children
For the Family Support Centers, children are the main target group. The center in Kharkiv is located underground in a shelter. Due to the war, children there study remotely. In Kharkiv, as in Odesa, air raid sirens go off constantly. The Caritas center, where they receive psychological help, is their only opportunity for safe interaction with peers. There, they also receive psychological support. Children’s needs vary. “Many of them were born during the war or just before it broke out. They do not know any other, normal reality. In the shelters, they are safe. They can study and play there, especially since the children of millions of displaced persons usually do not have their own toys. We run day-room activities and organize meetings for parents or entire families to help them cope with war trauma. War affects the entire family system,” explains Ms. Nocior.
Social Laundries
Caritas Poland has initiated a social laundry program established in cities with a high number of internally displaced persons, such as Kyiv, Lutsk, and Vinnytsia. “These laundries are a huge help, especially for seniors and independent individuals who cannot use their own washing machines due to a lack of or irregular electricity supplies. Very often, our laundries are the only place in town where these people can come, wash, and dry their clothes. People very often come to wash bedding, for instance, because they have bedridden relatives at home whose linens need frequent changing. These laundries and drying rooms that we organized as part of winter aid will likely continue to help them for several winters to come,” hopes Ms. Nocior. Additionally, as part of the project, food packages for families and hygiene kits for the elderly and children are being distributed in several front-line Ukrainian cities, while in Kyiv, warm meals were provided to the homeless and those in need during the winter season.
Caritas Poland helps Ukraine in close cooperation with the local Caritas organizations of the Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic Churches.
