Ukraine: working with Caritas-Spes to support the people
2 March 2022
Burundi, now Aaron can fulfill a dream
9 March 2022
November update (II)
The intense military escalation of the conflict in Ukraine has resulted in the loss of life, injuried and people being displaced all over the country and to neighbouring countries, as well as severe destruction and damage to civilian infrastructures and housing.
From 1 to 30 November 2022, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 688 civilian casualties in Ukraine, including 11 children.
The Russian army continues to target energy infrastructure. In fact, the Ukrainian energy system has suffered so much damage that state-owned energy companies and power suppliers have to limit the supply of electricity. The situation in the east of the country remains difficult.
On 6 December, night temperatures in the eastern regions dropped to -17C. In the Kiev and eastern regions, electricity can only be supplied to households for 2-4 hours a day.
Despite the difficulties arising from the current situation, the humanitarian aid provided by Caritas Spes Ukraine with the support of about 80 partners, is increasing.
Since the beginning of the conflict Caritas Spes Ukraine has delivered 271,807 accommodation services to provide (short and long term) safe shelter. In November Caritas Spes delivered 15,644 accommodation services to ensure safe shelter (short and long term) to 570 beneficiaries.
Also in November, 19 families received assistance in the form of targeted reconstruction of damaged residential buildings (providing building materials + master builder work). These families are located in the rural areas of the Buca district (4 villages) and Brovary district (1 village) of Kiev and in the Korosten district (1 village) of the Zhytomyr region. In total 74 persons are being assisted in this way (38 of them are children under the age of 14).
The total of 14,533 people received a hot meal in November, and 113,891 food kits were supplied to people in November.
The number of food items for self-catering provided to people in November was 13,632. The total number of non-food items provided to people in November was 14,917.
10,625 tonnes’ worth of humanitarian aid has been supplied to date. In November alone it was 85 tonnes.
The total number of people who have received psychosocial support, protection, consultation services up to 30 November is 76,314.
Total number of services provided – water, hygiene products, personal care products – up to 30 November is 828,347. Of these, 35,763 were in November alone. In addition, in this same month, the following were provided:
– 24,072 personal hygiene items and household cleaning products;
– 2,381 kits with children’s clothes and babycare products.
Health care (medicines and non-medical products) has been given to 62,637 people since the start of the conflict to the end of November.
November update (I)
Eight months have passed since war broke out, and Caritas Spes Ukraine’s commitment is as strong as ever. Caritas Spes’ activities cover 23 regions, including areas right on the frontline.
From February to the end of October, 256,163 people received shelter or accommodation; 1,550,351 people received food.
Water, toiletries and cleaning products were provided to 792,583 people.
The total number of kits with children’s clothes and toiletries as at 31 October was 43,669.
Medicines and similar products distributed since 24 February amount to 62,609.
To date, Caritas Spes’ main priorities are:
– the safety of its employees and beneficiaries
– adapting its activities in advance of winter and the cold weather
– launching a new project with the Polish government
– continuing to ensure access to food and hygiene products for those living near the borders and in settlements that are excluded from the flow of humanitarian supplies
– providing shelter and basic necessities for all IDPs
– coordinating network activities in accordance with changing needs
– ensuring Caritas Spes’ centres are running smoothly: family-type orphanages, homes for the elderly, single mothers with children, etc.
August update
Caritas Spes Ukraine is currently providing assistance to 23 different regions in Ukraine. The need for humanitarian aid is increasing in areas on the frontline, since economic and productive life has virtually come to a standstill. These areas are in particular need of humanitarian aid, and there has been an increase in requests for assistance in the southern and eastern areas because the frontline has moved.
According to the latest Caritas Spes report, the total number of beneficiaries who have received assistance since the start of the conflict has exceeded 2,156,813 people, and 231,628 have been given shelter or accommodation.
Food and basic necessities
To date, 1,689,160 beneficiaries have received food and basic necessities. Clean clothes and shoes have been provided to 78,502 people. Support, protection and childcare has been given to 76,234 people.
Water, hygiene items and cleaning products have been provided to 484,357 people.
Medicines and other pharmaceutical products have reached 62,981 people and 44,881 medical devices and first aid tools have been distributed.
July update
While support continues to be provided in the southern parts of the country where the fighting is the heaviest, there has been an increase in need reported to Caritas Spes.
The total number of beneficiaries who have received assistance since the beginning of the conflict is over 1,680,162 and 172,524 people have received shelter or accommodation.
Food and basic necessities
To date, 1,111,202 beneficiaries have received food and essential goods. Clean clothes and shoes have been provided to 63,069 people. With regard to child support, protection and care, 56,555 people have been reached.
Water, hygiene products and detergents were provided to a total of 408,090 people.
Medicines and other drugs reached 57,041 people and 11,364 medical devices and first aid tools were distributed. 
Caritas-Spes’ main objectives are still to ensure access to food and hygiene for residents living in areas on the frontline and in settlements cut off from humanitarian supplies, providing shelter and basic necessities to internally displaced people, in their own centres and in state centres or centres belonging to partner organisations, etc;
In this scenario, the work of collecting needs and coordinating the work of the network continues to ensure the centres function properly and aid is arriving.
In addition, thinking of long-term care centres, the needs of the elderly and disabled, activities for the next 6, 12 and 24 months are also being planned.
Second update in June – requests increase
Requests for assistance in the southern and eastern parts of the country continue to increase. It is currently essential to send as many humanitarian shipments as possible to the east, north and south of the country. Due to the shifting frontline, even more settlements in these areas have been cut off from basic necessities.
From Caritas Spes Ukraine’s latest update, we have heard that conditions are getting worse and the number of people needing assistance is increasing. 
In recent weeks, a call centre has been set up to receive requests and redirect users to the 40 centres where humanitarian goods are distributed or where shelter can be found. From 150 calls per week at the start, this number has risen to between 700 and 1,200 calls per day. The most frequent requests come from Kyiv, Dnipro, and the regions of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Chernivtsi, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad and Poltava.
The number of people who have benefitted from assistance since the beginning of the conflict is now over 1,483,138, and 158,631 people have received shelter or accommodation.
Food and basic necessities
To date, 802,271 beneficiaries have received food and essential goods. Clean clothes and shoes have been provided to 54,614 people. With regard to child support, protection and care, 56,391 people have been reached.
Water, hygiene products and detergents were provided to a total of 374,671 people and 32,713 people received children’s clothes and hygiene items.
Medicines and other drugs have reached 53,652 people, and 10,764 medical devices and emergency aid kits have been distributed.
First May update
The latest update from Caritas-Spes tells us of the continuous efforts being made to provide relief supplies to people exhausted by the conflict. In Kharkiv, the hard life of the refugees continues at the metro stations, humanitarian aid continues to be distributed in centres for displaced people in Yablonitsa, Dnipro, Zaporihia, and in many other centres.
A total of 422,897 beneficiaries have received assistance since the start of the conflict, and more specifically 113,652 people have been given shelter and accommodation.
The role of the support workers
Trucks with humanitarian aid travel from the Ukrainian borders, first to the regional humanitarian hubs, then by van, bus, car and even train to the most remote villages.
Many people working for Caritas-Spes have had to adapt to new challenges by becoming logistics operators, procurement managers, humanitarian coordinators, etc.
Olena, was delegated to Warsaw when the large-scale invasion began. There she and her colleagues started coordinating the distribution of humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Poland was one of the first countries to come to Ukraine’s aid, taking in more than 2 million refugees and organising unprecedented aid campaigns such as ‘Boxes for Ukraine’ in Catholic parishes in Poland.
“Often, as well as the important things needed for survival, letters of support are placed in these boxes, which once again show us Ukrainians that we are not alone in this war” – Olena added.
Update to 25 April
The latest report has confirmed that the number of beneficiaries who have received assistance since the beginning of the conflict is now over 357,690 people and, more specifically, 98,972 people have received shelter and accommodation.
Update to 18 April
In the latest updates from Caritas-Spes we have learned that as at 18 April the total number of beneficiaries who have received any kind of assistance has risen to 303,981.
Updates to 7 April
Since the beginning of the conflict, Caritas-Spes Ukraine estimates they have assisted 236,627 beneficiaries with various forms of aid.
The latest report gives an overview of the days from 04 to 07 April, when 27,472 people were given assistance.
Update to 4 April
Humanitarian aid provided by Caritas-Spes Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict focuses on 6 main areas:
– providing shelter and basic necessities to IDPs, in Caritas centres and in state or other partners’ centres;
– providing basic necessities to hospitals, colleges, etc.;
– provide access to food and hygiene facilities for residents of frontline areas and settlements cut off from humanitarian supply routes;
– record what is needed from parishes and settlements and offer logistical support to deliver humanitarian goods to new regions;
– coordinate the network’s efforts to respond to the newly recorded needs;
– make the Caritas-Spes centres are functioning properly which includes providing family-type orphanages, homes for the elderly, single mothers with children, and resettling bedridden patients, etc.
Caritas-Spes’ latest update estimates that 215,470 beneficiaries have received assistance in various forms since the beginning of the conflict.
Ukraine March 28th
The humanitarian emergency continues to grow and the number of cities that need constant help, both to offer a safe haven and to offer meals and basic necessities, especially to women, children and the elderly left alone.
From the latest Caritas-Spes updates, the total number of people who received assistance has exceeded 150,000 (150,3732).
Food and basic necessities were provided to 182,648 beneficiaries and over 5,000 people received clothes and shoes. Among the aid provided, 69,628 people also received water, hygiene items, detergents and more than 5,000 people received specific clothing and products for children.
Medicines and other drugs reached 9,762 people.
The widespread needs have led Caritas-Spes to adapt the logistics for the distribution of goods day by day: new areas to be served are added, the number of people in difficulty is growing and it is always necessary to review the safe routes to receive and distribute humanitarian aid. As it happens in occupied cities, where we continue to work, helping hundreds of people every day, through centers or parishes.
March 23rd – Ukraine, expanding the aid map
Since the beginning of the war, Caritas-Spes Ukraine has continued to assist the population trying to meet their various needs and trying to overcome the difficulties caused by the lack of actual safe paths and corridors.
Every day, occupied cities or new attacks must be talked in order to direct aid and to be able to support as many people as possible.
According to the latest data provided by Caritas-Spes (here in summary) the total number of people who have received assistance since the beginning of the conflict is 141.443.
For 47.126 people this meant being able to rely on safe shelter or accommodation.
Volunteers and operators provided food and essential goods for 165.845 beneficiaries. All was made possible thanks to the arrival and sorting of humanitarian aid. We are talking about 1.116 tons received, as it has become increasingly difficult to find goods to buy.
Medicines and other drugs were also distributed to 9.268 people.
The priority of Caritas-Spes now is to be able to organize aid for ever larger areas, in order to reach more and more people left with nothing: homes, clothes, medicines, food.
March 21st Ukraine, ongoing and developing assistance
For almost a month, Caritas-Spes Ukraine has been doing its best to overcome the humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Since the beginning of the military actions, the Mission has carried out activities aimed at assisting internally displaced persons and residents who remained on the territory, in the combat zones.
Over the past 25 days, the mission has provided 25 shelters in Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Volyn and Lviv Oblasts and has supported its 4 centers which have sheltered the guests of some childcare homes and a home for single mothers.
The Caritas-Spes Ukraine mission operates day by day through 34 of its own centers and the RCCiU parishes, adjusting humanitarian assistance to specific situations and difficulties, in order to cope with the deficit of raw materials that is worsening.
The centers in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Kamyanets, although without equipped warehouses available for the moment, have also become regional mini-humanitarian hubs. Mission centers and RCCiU parishes are becoming small warehouses, which are continually supplied to support the region.
During this period, the 17 canteens of Caritas-Spes Ukraine also remained active before the conflict in Zakarpattia, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv and Volyn Oblasts, to provide hot meals to those in need.
Some summary data of the latest Caritas-Spes updates show that the total number of beneficiaries of the assistance provided since the beginning of the conflict is 124,683.
To date, 40,525 people have been provided with shelter and 145,098 beneficiaries have received food and essential goods, from food packages to personal hygiene products. Food support includes both hot meals and distributed food packages containing various dry food and personal hygiene detergents. The commitment to children remains constant, with the supply of specific foods, clothes and everything necessary for them, which has reached about 4,903 people.
Specific medicines and other drugs, medical devices and first aid tools provided were distributed to approximately 8,774 people.
Caritas-Spes’ commitment continues in organizing aid through safe routes and, with the expansion of the areas affected by military operations, the expansion of the areas reached and served by aid.
March 18th – Ukraine, people in need of aid increase
Despite the continued exodus from the cities, local officials say that, for example in Mariupol, about 350,000 people are still trapped in the encircled city. There are unconfirmed reports that aid has reached those affected in Mariupol, however, there is no confirmation as to the type and quantity of goods supplied.
Hostilities are continuing in the Kyivska region in Borodianka, Irpin and Makariv and the situation remains critical in Ivankivska, Dymerska and Poliska hromadas. The settlements of Irpin and Kotsiubynske were completely cut off from the gas supply, while Morkets and Zavorychi were left without communications amid the ongoing hostilities.
The total number of beneficiaries of aid provided in the last 24 hours is 17,199 people. Since the start of the conflict, 100,772 beneficiaries have received assistance.
To date, over 30,500 people have been granted with shelter and shelter and 104,306 beneficiaries have received food and basic necessities.
Various types of supplies continue to be delivered: packs of food, hygiene products and basic necessities, clothes and shoes, especially for children. Distribution of medicines reached 7,307 people.
400 volunteers involved in assistance operations take care of welcoming, sorting and distributing humanitarian aid that arrives as well as buying goods and products where still possible.
Today, March 18th a meeting is scheduled to coordinate logistics in the occupied territories and evaluate the opportunity to provide assistance in other devastated areas such as Hulyaipillia in southeastern Ukraine and northeastern Zaporizhzhia and the city of Polohy (Zaporizhzhia Oblast, administrative and cultural center of Polohyvskyi Area).
Report March 16th – Ukraine, humanitarian corridors still uncertain
According to information received from Caritas-Spes, since February 24, more than 3 million people have fled from the fighting in Ukraine, including more than 1.5 million children. Poland has received the largest number of refugees, followed by Romania and Moldova.
On March 15th, about 2,000 private vehicles left the city of Mariupol en route to Zaporizhzhia. About 20,000 people were evacuated through the humanitarian corridor. Although these are not insured every day. For March 16th, for example, none were planned.
Caritas-Spes Ukraine has expanded the number of its operational centers: Lviv, Mukachevo, Tyachiv, Lutsk. In southern and eastern regions of Ukraine, Caritas-Spes Ukraine has formed its own hubs of humanitarian assistance: Kharkiv, Kamyanske, Zaporizhzhia and Odesa. Transit hubs were organized in Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Kiev.
Currently, the Mission is providing shelter to IDPs, organizing and preparing shelters, to respond to humanitarian needs in the devastated areas, supporting centers for children, houses of mercy for the elderly and taking care of the most vulnerable categories of people.
The total number of beneficiaries who received assistance in the last 24 hours is 21,241 people. Since the beginning of the conflict, 90,596 beneficiaries have received assistance.
To date, 27,299 people have been provided with shelter and housing.
More than 85 thousand people have received food and first aid necessities and more than 4 thousand have received shoes and clothes. Thanks to humanitarian aid, hygiene products and drinking water are also provided to the population.
Particular attention is paid to the supply of goods for early childhood: clothes, specific foods, hygiene products.
With medicines, it is estimated that more than 5 thousand people have been reached.
Caritas-Spes, through some operational centers and diocesan centers, continuously coordinates and revises the logistics for the delivery of aid. In the coming hours we will evaluate the opportunity to expand the range of action and reach other devastated areas such as Hulyaipillia in southeastern Ukraine and northeastern Zaporizhzhia as well as the city of Polohy (Zaporizhzhia Oblast, administrative and cultural center of Polohyvskyi Area)
March 14th – Ukraine – looking for safe routes for aid
In these days, Caritas-Spes thanks to the collaboration with other networks, is looking for and implementing safe routes to continue receiving and distributing aid.
Meanwhile, the 34 Caritas centers continue to be operational, in collaboration with parishes, and is working to create more assistance points.
We share some salient data from the last report sent to us by Caritas-Spes
Thanks to the provision of humanitarian aid of different types, a total of 34,338 beneficiaries were reached through partners, volunteers, hospitals etc.
The dioceses involved are those of Kyiv and Zhytomyr; Lviv, Kamyanets-Podilskyi, Lutsk, Mukachevo, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia
19,753 people were provided with shelter and safe housing, about 11,217 people were provided with food and meals and about 12,589 received food parcels with different kinds of comfort.
Distribution of clothes, shoes and hygiene products continues; the latter reached about 14,531 people. Specific medicines and other generic medicines reached about 1,850 people.
These figures refer only to the main interventions, the population currently needs to meet all kinds of requirements related to the disruption of their daily lives, whether they remain in their homes or abandoned them because they were bombed or because they are seeking shelter in neighboring countries.
This huge relief effort coordinated by Caritas-Spes can also count on the support of about 400 volunteers engaged in all the different operations.
March 10th – Ukraine emergency, assistance to the population continues
The 34 operational offices of the Caritas-Spes mission continue in their aid activities to the population, making their best, even if they have to adjust their interventions to clashes and military operations taking place in the various areas.
The total number of beneficiaries who have already obtained aid represents 38,100 people
Caritas-Spes has received 223 tons of humanitarian loads which it is organizing and sorting at various points. In the last 24 hours, Caritas-Spes Ukraine has provided help to 15,110 people by distributing:
– Food aid for 5,270 people
– Dry food packages for 5,103 people
– drinking water (1.5 litres per person) for 502 people
– hot meals for 966 people
– clothes and shoes for 672 people
– personal hygiene items for 256 people
– children’s clothing and childcare articles for 1,670 people
– medicines for 536 packages
– household chemicals and related products for 135 people
These days we report, among others, some activities:
- In the Archdiocese of Lviv Caritas-Spes Lviv’ 3 humanitarian loads arrived and were directed to Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Brovary. Some aid was also sent to the centers of Lviv Oblast, where now most of the internally displaced persons live.
In Lviv, a soup kitchen works from Monday to Friday, here people can find hot meals and take food packages and clean clothes (about 150 people per day). - The families housed in shelters were provided with medicines and goods for infants and children. In Pnikut, Lviv Oblast, 40 children from 4 family homes were helped.
- Caritas San Martino (Caritas-Spes Zakarpattia) is currently providing temporary housing for internally displaced persons.
The centre also provides food, sleeping bags, blankets, etc.
Saint Family’ (Caritas-Spes Solotveno) provides internally displaced people with hot meals, items for the hygiene of children. The surrounding villages also receive products, clothing and hygiene items. - The diocese of Odesa and Simferopol Caritas-Spes Odesa received 7 tons of humanitarian aid for 1,280 people. Currently, the center is supplying the warehouse with humanitarian aid so that, if necessary, it can fully meet all the needs of those who need it. Yesterday, 15 food packages were distributed.
In the last 24 hours in the Kamyanets-Podilskyi diocese, 1,231 people were provided with assistance (shelters, accommodation, products). Caritas-Spes Vinnytsia’ distributed humanitarian aid to 1,100 people and a humanitarian bus was sent to Fastiv and Kharkiv. - Another 2 family-style children’s homes sponsored by the Mission are now safe and host 71 children.
The mission is developing relationships with other partner organizations with the prospect of providing assistance to as many people as possible from the devastated areas. It is also working on the transfer of humanitarian aid to the most damaged areas and organizing logistics to evacuate people from combat zones.
March 9th- Ukraine Emergency, Caritas-Spes continues his support to the most vulnerable
The situation for the Ukrainian population continues to worsen as the days go by and the work in helping and supporting the population continues incessantly.
The 34 offices and support points of Caritas-Spes in action reported that they have already helped 34,765 people. Of these, more than 25,000 have received humanitarian aid such as food, clothing, medicines and essential goods. In addition, about 9,140 people, of which 2683 children were hosted and welcomed in the shelters managed or supported by Cartias-Spes.
In these hours, interventions continue in various areas of the country, some of the main ones are the following:
The Social Center of Caritas-Spes in Kiev ‘is dealing with the transport and distribution of food parcels on the left bank of Kiev. Assistance is mainly aimed at the elderly, the disabled and retirees. Approximately 230 people have been assisted to date. Chervonyi Khutir hospital has also been supplied with some medicines.
In the last 10 days since the beginning of military escalation, Caritas-Spes Yablunytsia ‘has helped 2,500 internally displaced people (mostly women and children) with assistance services of any kind, as needed.
- Mothers and children of the House of Hope (59 people) in the village of Korotych were evacuated and sheltered in the village of Yazlivets.
- In the Diocese of Lutsk, 1,317 people received packages containing food and hygiene items.
- According to the Caritas in Lublin 60 tons of humanitarian aid was sent to Lutsk and from there they will be where it will then be redistributed to other centers.
- Caritas-Spes Zakarpattia provided temporary shelter for internally displaced people. The village of Berehove organized the distribution of humanitarian aid, especially food and goods for children.
- In Kharkiv and in the diocese of Zaporizhzhia, about 2,000 people asked for help from the Caritas-Spes center.
- Despite all the challenges caused by the lack of heating and communication difficulties, Caritas-Spes Berdyansk ‘provided food and assistance to 360 people.
Caritas-Spes works daily to provide its centers with assistance, trying to organize the distribution of humanitarian aid in the most devastated areas. In addition, attempts are being made to organize the evacuation of the most vulnerable people from the combat zones.
March 8th – Ukraine emergency, the arrival of humanitarian aid
The war in Ukraine continues and the situation is changing by the hour. The collection of the Coordination of the Focolare Movement, AMU and AFN also continues to support the actions of the Ukrainian Cartias-Spes.
The Caritas-Spes centers currently in action are 34 in Odesa, Berdyansk, Kharkiv and Kiev and are mainly engaged in the reception, preparation and distribution of incoming humanitarian aid loads. Today almost 160 tons of food, clothing, essential goods and medicines arrived, which are stored, sorted, packaged and sent to the various missions in Caritas offices, which distribute them to the population.
Thanks also to this activity, it is estimated that the number of people assisted exceeds 29,500. Among these, around 4,600 people (including 1,090 children) were housed in safer shelters.
Three humanitarian shipments with a total weight of 60 tons arrived in Zhytomyr, which also contained diapers and baby food. Here Caritas-Spes also supports pediatric hospitals and clinics as well as the Casa di Misericordia which accommodates 29 people (14 elderly people, 15 employees).
Currently, again thanks to the arrival of aid, it is also possible to distribute medicines: the social center in Kiev has been thinking of the displaced people waiting for evacuation trains. Others have come to Tarasivskyi and Boyarskyi.
Taking care of mothers, children and the elderly continues
In the Children’s Village of Yablunytsia, Caritas-Spes offers 3 meals a day, medicines and hygiene items to 200 IDPs (mainly mothers with children and the elderly) and 30 staff members who care for them.
Four out of 11 homestays have been evacuated, bringing about 100 people to the border with other countries or to safer inland areas. Another 7 family-type orphanages, sponsored by the Mission and hosting 81 children, are now safe, hosting 81 children. In other facilities, Caritas continues to provide food and medicine.
Since the beginning of the military intervention, Lviv has received 80 tons of humanitarian cargoes which have been directed to RCCiU parishes in the affected areas. In total, 10,000 people were helped.
Caritas di San Martino (Caritas-Spes Zakarpattia) hosted 293 people (in Mukachevo and Vynogradovo) and provided food to refugees (350 people per day) at the border.
March 4th – Ukraine, the commitment of Caritas-Spes continues
The first trucks with humanitarian aid begin to arrive in Lviv and now efforts are being made to organize distribution.
According to Caritas-Spes, 56 large and medium-sized settlements have already been affected.
Among them, twelve report a critical humanitarian situation – Irpin, Bucha, Borodyanka, Vorzel, Ivankiv, Chernihiv, Okhtyrka, Volnovakha, Stanytsia Luhanska, Shchastya, Severodonetsk.
A center in Berdyansk has been temporarily occupied.
In recent days, Caritas-Spes has provided shelter to more than 260 people in western Ukraine and in the centers of Kiev, Berdyansk, Vinnytsia and Odessa, the epicenter of military attacks.
The evacuation of family homes and homes for mothers in difficulty is actively continuing. The pupils of the Josef Holtzman DBST are already in Warsaw and the wards of the village of Korotych are being evacuated with the help of international partners and the Commissioner for the Rights of the Child of Ukraine.
More than 485 food packs, hot lunches and 504 packs of baby diapers have already been distributed.
Efforts are made in order to get humanitarian goods from Poland, Slovenia, Hungary and logistics for distribution are being organized even though the highways are blocked and in some places the railway is the only connection.
- Sandwiches, soups and hot drinks were distributed at the Luzhanka checkpoint in Transcarpathia.
- In Lviv the queues at the borders have decreased considerably, but the distribution of hot meals and sandwiches continues.
- Humanitarian products were received and delivered in Kiev, Irpin, Odesa, Khmelnytsky as well as in Lviv at the parish where refugees are received.
- Food parcels were delivered to 30 families.
- Caritas-Spes Lutsk continues to assist 42 orphans and IDP educators in Kovel.
- In Berdiansk the distribution of food packages continues and at night, in the shelters, meals are continued to be prepared for those who ask for hospitality.
- In Zhytomyr, in the Nova Borova village, 2 psychoneurological dispensaries were delivered for 80 children.
- Caritas-Spes of Kamenets-Podolsky hosts two families, one with one and the other with two children.
- Another 10 people are expected from Kharkiv and some from Bila Tserkva. A little more than 20 people are likely to be accommodated, at present about 15 seats remain free.
March 3rd – Ukraine Emergency support to mothers, homestays and orphanages
For the Ukrainian Emergency, our direct line continues with Mira, a focolarina who lives and works in Ukraine with Cartias-Spes.
In addition to the challenges posed by the war, the Mission continues to look after family-type orphanages and nursing homes for the elderly.
Currently 11 family-type orphanages with 91 children are located in the immediate proximity of the combat zone. In the Nova Borova village, 2 psychoneurological dispensaries for 80 children were delivered and 42 orphans and displaced educators from Kovel were guaranteed a hot meal.
To date, we are also in contact with 18 mothers, 28 children and some nuns who live in three homes for single mothers with children 27 km from Kharkiv. For them, evacuation is a matter of time.
In the meantime, there is a constant mapping of all needs for each region and, considering shortage of materials that is looming in the coming days, we are organizing to receive humanitarian aid in Ukraine and to buy online and ensure the delivery of what is necessary.
March 2nd – Ukraine Emergency, efforts to help displaced people and refugees continue
Our direct line with Mira, a focolarina who lives and works in Ukraine with Caritas-Spes, continues.
In recent days, Caritas-Spes Ukraine has been able to help over 2130 people (as of March 1).
In the regions of Lviv and Transcarpathia, refugees are being welcomed, creating a network of institutions capable of providing accommodation that can also ensure food, medicines and everything necessary for first aid to those who were forced to leave their homes.
In Lviv, on the border with Poland at the Rava-Ruska checkpoint, Caritas-Spes Lviv continues to distribute hot lunches twice a day. A total of 500 lunches were distributed, although operators note that the queues at the border are significantly decreasing. Many sandwiches were also distributed at the Lviv train station.
Currently, the Mission can accommodate more than 2,500 mothers with children. 750 people have already been accommodated, but near the borders the number is constantly changing, as these are buffer points.
14 fixed canteens in the region and Lviv, Lutsk and Zakarpattia organize meals for those who are close to the border and try to leave the country, managing to offer their support to approx. 1000 people.
Food humanitarian aid was received, unloaded and delivered in Kiev, Irpin, Odesa, Khmelnytsky, as well as in Lviv in the parish where the refugees are received. Food parcels were distributed to 30 families in Lviv.
March 1st – Ukraine Emergency, thousands of escaping displaced persons – Direct line with Mira
After the 5th day of war thousands of people are trying to leave the country or are forced to abandon their homes, now destroyed or considered unsafe. While men are called to arms, it is above all women and children who undertake journeys of hope, for example to Poland. At the border, Caritas-Spes Lutsk of the parish of St. Peter and Paul distributed hot food (vareniki, polenta, biscuits, etc.) to 110 people. Caritas Spes Lviv organized meals for people waiting to cross the border into Poland.
The centers also offer shelter to refugees even in small towns near Lviv: Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi and Ternopil. To date there are about 350 free places, but the figure is constantly evolving. Usually, these shelters become temporary residence points on the way to the border. More than 350 hot lunches were distributed yesterday alone.
In the Solotvino village, near the Romanian border, tea and sandwiches were distributed to 375 people. In Vynohradiv they welcomed 121 people in dormitories, equipped with everything they needed: blankets, hygiene products, clothes, food.
In Odessa Caritas Spes supplies 3 shelters. Today they have bought mats, water, canned food, etc.
March 1st – Ukraine Emergency, children’s tragedy – Direct line with Mira
Mira, focolarina who lives in Ukraine, updates us on the conditions of the war-torn population and on the interventions of Cartias-Spes, also supported by the fundraising launched by the emergency coordination of the Focolare Movement, AMU and AFN.
The most vulnerable ones, in this as well as of all the wars, are certainly the children, unaware victims of a situation that will affect them for life. Often separated from the fathers who remain to fight, they are forced on journeys of hope or, at best, pilgrimages from one refuge to another with their mothers and brothers and sisters, little more than children.
Caritas-Spes in Luts hosted 42 children from the Kovel orphanage in its Integration Center in Volyn. Also in Volyn, the Regional Medical Association for the Protection of Maternity and Childhood (Volyn Regional Children’s Hospital) is preparing for any eventuality and is organizing shelters for pregnant or parturient women, for children in care and for their mothers. Caritas S. Augustina Caritas-Spes Zakarpattia has identified a network of 26 locations per settlement (dormitories, recreational centers, camps, etc.). Today 2,412 mothers with children can be accommodated.
In Lutsk, food parcels were delivered to 20 children suffering from a rare disease: phenylketonuria.