LWF and partners have begun distributing food, hygiene products, and baby care products to Ukrainian refugees in Krakow and other cities in Poland.
The distribution center at the Krakow train station managed by the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association and their partners. Photo: LWF/ L. Gillabert
Food and hygiene items distributed in Krakow and other cities
(LWI) - To support Ukrainian refugees in Poland, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and its partners have started to distribute food, hygiene products and baby care products to Ukrainian refugees in Krakow and other cities in Poland this week.
The refugees will receive food like canned pasta, marmalade, cereals, coffee and chocolate, hygiene and baby care products such as shampoo, toothpaste, diapers, formula and female hygiene supplies, as well as cleaning detergent and toilet paper. The aid is meant for about 8,000 people. It will be available in distribution points in Cieszyn, Krakow, and the LWF community centers in Ostroda and Gdansk.
Izabela Kucmin-Bemelmans (The Polish Scouting and Guiding Association and the Internationaler Bund Polska), Łukasz Ostruszka (Evangelical-Augsburg Parish) and Julius Kibet (Foundation LWF in Poland) at the distribution center of Daszyńskiego street 16, Cracow. Photo:LWF/ L. Gillabert
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.
Łukasz Ostruszka, Pastor of the Evangelical-Augsburg Parish, interviewed by local media. Photo: LWF/ L. Gillabert
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”.
LWF and partners, from left: Anna Pilch (Foundation LWF in Poland), Mateusz Ploskonka (City of Cracow), Samuel Dypczyński Foundation LWF in Poland), Julius Kibet (Foundation LWF in Poland), Joanna Godfrejów (Parish Council of the Evangelical-Augsburg Parish), Łukasz Ostruszka (Evangelical-Augsburg Parish), Mariusz Siudek (The Polish Scouting and Guiding Association), Izabela Kucmin-Bemelmans (The Polish Scouting and Guiding Association), Grzegorz Grzonka (Internationaler Bund Polska) in the Cracow warehouse in front of the relief goods. Photo: LWF/Léa Gillabert
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.”
In Poland, the LWF provides cash, relief goods and psychosocial support to refugees from Ukraine through its community centers in Gdansk, Wroclaw, Ostróda, Zgierz, Bytom Miechowice and Bielsko-Biała, and two distribution points in the city of Cracow.
LWF works with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland, an LWF member church. Our work is supported by LWF Member Churches, Related Agencies, UN agencies, Governments and private individuals.
