Oksana was forced to emigrate due to poverty. Vova and Irina fled from the Russians, and Vova from Donetsk – from separatists, pursuing him. All found refuge and assistance at ‘Ukrainian World’. Gazeta Wyborcza wrote about volunteers from the Open Dialogue Foundation and the threat of closure of the centre for aid for Ukrainian immigrants.
The ‘Ukrainian World‘ centre is said to be a place teeming with Ukrainian life. – We organise Polish language lessons, events and concerts. We cannot afford it, but we cannot resign from doing this, as every day, dozens of Ukrainians need our help – Tomasz Czuwara, the head of the press office of the Open Dialogue Foundation, which runs the centre, explained. Gazeta Wyborcza cites numbers: in March, Ukrainian World was visited by approx. 2,000 immigrants seeking help, with up to 120 people attending the centre daily. Paradoxically, helping such large numbers of refugees could lead to the centre’s closure – the Municipality helps us. We do not need to pay rent, we do not pay for utilities, but this is not enough for us to be able to operate without hindrance. We lack the money to provide assistance on such a large scale – Mateusz Kramek, responsible for the operation of the centre at 63 Nowy Świat, added.
Anyone who wishes to support ‘Ukrainian World’, is welcome to transfer financial donations to the account: Alior Bank SA PL: 98 2490 0005 0000 4530 4115 2508, accompanied by the description: ‘Ukrainian World’; or to auction an item on the auction site: thejillion.com.
Source: wyborcza.pl