UKRAINE: Efforts focus on winter preparation, school support
Salesian-run VIS helps prepare local communities and those displaced for winter
(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries, in collaboration with international partners, are helping people in Ukraine* prepare for the arrival of the winter season, along with other support projects. A recent report by the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) highlighted the urgency of preparing the population for the coming harsh Ukrainian winter.
In response, the Salesian-run International Volunteer Service (VIS) has launched a comprehensive six-month project funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation. The project will take place in Lviv, Zhytomyr, and Ivankiv in the Kyiv region. These areas are home to more than 6.28 million internally displaced persons.
The project will send a mobile unit to 12 villages to provide psycho-social support and distribute kits for emergency repairs to houses, particularly in Ivankiv province where 2,360 homes have been damaged. The mobile unit will also distribute blankets, winter clothes, stoves, and fuel, as well as cook and deliver 1,000 hot meals per day. The meals have been made possible thanks in part to the Department of Civil Defense, which has provided four field kitchens.
Recreational and psycho-social activities are planned for youth, including using free time productively in cases where children cannot return to class. Many buildings have been damaged, including more than 2,000 school facilities, of which 285 have been completely destroyed. Other schools are without suitable air-raid shelters and have not reopened.
This project is part of the broader initiative carried out by the coordination of Salesian organizations in Germany, Italy and Poland. Salesians in Poland have been on the front lines of housing refugees and bringing supplies into Ukraine. The Polish government and city officials in Lviv have set up a modular citadel that has been housing 350 people for six months. Salesians are involved in the care of the people housed in the camp, including educational and recreational activities for children, psycho-social assistance, and distribution of hot meals.
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Sources:
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*Any goods, services, or funds provided by Salesian Missions to programs located in this country were administered in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control.
