Supporting Ukrainian Refugees
Polish, Hungarian Sanghas Offer Help
Ukrainian refugees at Chamma Ling Poland in Wilga with Pawel Witak (second from left), caretaker at the timeSince the start of the conflict in Ukraine, many women, children and elder people have left their homes or country to move to a safer place. Three million refugees from Ukraine have gone to Poland; and as well, many Ukrainian men living and working in Poland went back to Ukraine to defend their country. Many Ukrainians have fled to western Ukraine, where many people originally from Hungary live.
Both the Polish and Hungarian sanghas of Ligmincha International have been providing support for refugees and others impacted by the war. They have been helped by donations from an internal fundraising campaign organized by Ligmincha International. (You can still donate through Ligmincha International, Ligmincha Poland or Ligmincha Hungary.)
To find out more, Ton Bisscheroux talked with members from Ligmincha's Polish and Hungarian sanghas: Barbara Baczyńska, secretary of the Board of Ligmincha Poland and coordinator of support for the Ukraine refugees; Agnieszka Kutyłowska, a member of the Polish sangha who worked with the refugees; and Balazs Balogh, a member of the Hungarian sangha.
Barbara, can you talk about the Ukraine refugees who came to Poland, and especially to Ligmincha's Chamma Ling center in Wilga?
During the first month of the war, we had about 30 refugees in Wilga. Wilga is a very small village in a forest, and our center was a great place for them to rest. After a few weeks these people went to bigger cities in Poland, or to other countries. They wanted to find work and to send their children to a school. Six weeks after the war started, they had all left Wilga. We are still open to receive them, but now there are no longer refugees staying at Chamma Ling Poland. We still get a lot of questions, but when they find out about our location, they are not coming.
Is it possible for them to find work in the cities?
Our language is quite similar, and before the war a lot of Ukrainian men worked in Poland in the confection industry. They left and went home to defend their country, so Ukrainian women found jobs quite easily.
In what ways have you been supporting the refugees?
We provided the refugees with food, clothing and shoes. We helped them to find a place to go to, and paid for train tickets for those who wanted to go to other places in Poland or abroad. On our webpage refugees can read that they are welcome at Chamma Ling.
We collected a lot of money, and we have supported some humanitarian organizations. One is called Polish Humanitarian Action, a Warsaw-based international nongovernmental organization (NGO) which for more than 20 years has been providing assistance to civilians suffering as a result of armed conflicts, humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters in more than 40 countries worldwide. We donated $14,000 to them, and another $10,000 and to another nonprofit organization called A Place at the Table. This organization started two days after the war began, and every day they have been cooking thousands of meals at the border for free. We supported an organization called Centaurus Foundation with $2,500. They help evacuate animals and their caretakers from Ukraine to Poland. We supported the printing of booklets with the title "Heroes Cry Too," to be given to Ukraine children. These booklets are prepared by psychologists and are therapeutic.
We still have money to spend and will plan other actions. Our sangha members privately help or host refugees, and they asked Ligmincha to help them find shoes and clothes and toys for the children.
We are now also making it possible to invite refugees with children to Chamma Ling for free holiday stays. We are talking about this with Ukrainian House in Warsaw and with Happy Kids family orphanage, which took in 1,400 orphans from Ukraine.
Did the refugees ask for mental or spiritual support?
They did not want to talk about what happened. So we did not offer them any spiritual or psychological help. But there are organizations in Poland that offer mental health support.
The war is a horrible situation, and for me the only way that I can deal with it is to do something and help. It is heartbreaking that I am living in a peaceful part of Europe, and they are in a war they did not ask for.
How much financial support did you get from Ligmincha?
Ligmincha Poland received the following donations from other Ligmincha sanghas: $22,000 from Ligmincha International, $6,500 from Ligmincha Germany, $3,000 from Ligmincha Switzerland, $1,100 from Ligmincha Austria and $550 from Ligmincha Finland, plus $2,000 from Polish sangha members.
Agnieszka, can you talk about your experiences working with the Ukraine refugees?
I met three families. The first was a mother, Sasha, with her daughters Luba and Liza, 8 and 11 years old, from Donetsk. Luba was a very lively child and full of energy. Liza kept more to herself. They fled their hometown twice. The first time, in 2014, when their city was occupied by Russians, they went to Kiev. And now they had to escape again from Kiev to Poland. They all went through terrifying experiences, and in Wilga they could relax. Sasha can sew and embroider beautiful things. We gave her a sewing machine so she can earn a living in Poland. They stayed in Wilga for one month. then we helped them find a new place to live in Milanowek, a small city near Warsaw.
Another family I met was an older couple, Sasha and Lena, who are 75 years old, and who came with their son Andrej. They told me that they had been on the run for 10 days. Before they arrived in Wilga, they stayed in big dormitory with many people, where they felt lost. Soon they began looking for family somewhere in Poland. They had health issues and we took them to the doctor, where they got a prescription for medicines. The couple stayed in our center for one month and then went to Warsaw because Andrej found a job there as physiotherapist. They liked Wilga very much, but they wanted to be close to their son.
The third family I met consisted of six people: Ira is 45 years old, Veronica 16, Maxim 17, and Sniezhana 26, with two daughters Zlata, 4 years and Pola, 11 months old. They all came from Zhytomyr. The first days in Wilga they were very stressed. After a few days they opened up and began to talk more. They also went to our gompa [meditation hall] to pray. First, they went to the Warsaw, but after four weeks they decided to go back to Ukraine, because Ira's boss told her to come back to Ukraine. She had a good job, and she did not want to lose it.
How was it for you when you met the refugees?
It was difficult to hear their stories. I felt their sadness. The people I met are very thankful for everything. We tried to give them something so they would stop thinking of their traumatic experiences. All the people I met want to go back to Ukraine, even though they worry about people who are now in Ukraine.
Balazs, can you talk about what the Hungarian sangha has been doing for the Ukrainian refugees?
A delivery from Hungarian sangha to UkraineWe do not host refugees in Hungary. We help refugees in their mother country, Ukraine. In the western part of Ukraine, called Subcarpathia, many people live who are originally from Hungary. They are the fifth largest national minority in Ukraine.
We established a close relationship with 2 NGOs helping refugees directly, VARDA Tradition Preserver and the Ukrainian Gracious Foundation. In a warehouse they collect money, clothing, food and other things refugees need and distribute them in Ukraine. Some of their members have easy access through the border, and they have bilingual volunteers from Subcarpathia.
We have passed the border with them twice; the third truck of donations is being prepared to be delivered in a week. When we go with them, passing the border from Hungary to Ukraine is easier and we are able to reach more towns, villages, schools and orphanages in Subcarpathia. Numerous refugees from the eastern part of Ukraine have gathered there. Mainly women and children are coming, staying there for a while, and then trying to pass the border. Orphans come from the war-torn areas, and some find a place in a Hungarian orphanage. They need all the help (clothing, food etc.) we can provide.
Helping organize donated supplies for UkrainiansWe got in contact with a food wholesaler in Hungary, who offered us a discount of 15 to 20 percent. We ask the NGOs on the field what they need the most at the moment, get it at wholesale price and take it personally to places needed. We also work with a Calvinist priest, who divides our donations among people and institutions (orphanages, hospitals, etc.) in need.
Did you meet the refugees?
No, we meet with the volunteers, so we do not have stories from refugees. Once as we were distributing a truckload of stuff at a school and we had a glimpse at how people live there. We were driving five trucks that day to different places in Ukraine. Around 100 refugees were sheltering in that school at the moment, but we did not have time to speak with them. We were driving more than 800 kilometers and started the day at 7 a.m. from Budapest and arrived home after midnight. We were just taking the food out and waving goodbye. The volunteers and the director of the school tried to keep us there for dinner or at least a coffee, but we really had to go.
How long will you continue with your support?
Our aim is to provide continuous and long-term assistance even when people are "getting used to" and becoming less sensitive to the news about the war in Ukraine. Unfortunately, the crisis seems to be prolonged for a while, so those who are fleeing from the war now, and those who will be fleeing later, are waiting and counting on our help in the future as well.
How much financial support did you get from Ligmincha?
Ligmincha Hungary started a fundraising call to provide direct assistance to those in need in Ukraine close to the border and for those who are fleeing from Ukraine to Hungary. Ligmincha Hungary has received donations of $4,000 from Ligmincha International, $3,000 from Ligmincha Switzerland, $500 from Ligmincha Peru, $1,300 from Ligmincha Austria, $500 from Ligmincha Finland and $1,800 from individual sponsors. As I said above, our aim is to provide continuous and long-term assistance, so all support is welcomed.
