Support Ukrainian Blue Cross work & refugees

Blue Cross Romnia has been able to host a family with 6 children and parents to their empty building. They had experienced the traumatic bombings of their old home and had to leave their home in order to give safety and opportunity for life and future for their children. When you have 6 children you need 6 tooth brushes, 6 beds, 6 of everything and food for the whole family of 8. In your home town you have the social network, family and knowledge of how to get by but when you loose all this it is very hard start to setting up a new life as a family.

With this settled location and space to live as a family they can slowly work through their traumatic experiences and memories and recover to become active helpers amongst the refugee community. BC Romania is providing on going resettlement support for the family and enabling their integration to the local community. Children have now a safe place to continue their schooling and friends to build their realtionships and time to play and find the joy of life despite the sudden pulling out of their familiar neighbourhood. With the donations we have been able to support them to get accommodation, basics to get by and food and hygiene products, clothes and school equipment for the children to continue their studies.

Your support makes work like this possible and gives families and children opportunity to find new hope for their life!

Blue Cross Poland youth project for refugee children is an important success to help children to integrate to local community. Parents have also an opportunity to engage with each other and to receive meaningful tasks to fill their days whilst settling to a new place. Blue Crosses give a place where children and parents can be active participants  in rebuilding life in a new situation. It is important to have the opportunity that people with facilitation skills can enable safe space for discussing new circumstances. Facilitated peer support is known to be an effective long term support for dealing with changes in person’s life. It helps to realise nobody needs to cope alone and problem shared enables new perspectives for solutions with people in similar situation. The support prevents people from turning to negative behaviours such as alcohol and other addictions and to agreesive behaviour.

Some of the key points when people feel supported in a new life situation:

• through sharing and listening to others with same struggles
• accepting that it is ok to feel mixed feelings
• in a group issues become real and truth liberates, even bad things said out loud to others in similar situation is liberating
• realisation that one does not need to cope alone

The work with Ukraine refugees continues in Blue Cross Poland and Blue Cross Romania based on the above self help group principles. Thank you for your support, it helps us to build new beginnings to people’s life! 

Families suffering from the consequences of war and displacement receive support in form of organized activities for children during summer holidays

Summer day-camps are organized during holidays when schools are closed. Blue Cross Poland ensure that  children are taken care of in a positive, child centered programme where they can spend valuable time with safe adults and other children. At the same time they get to know Polish culture and language. Camps were organised in Pszczyna Poland.

Blue Cross Poland organized 3x2-weeks (10 days) day-camps for children and teenagers, the program of day-camps comprised varied activities and space to increase interpersonal skills, understand Polish culture and language better and spend free time in an attractive way.

-               Sport activities (swimming pool)

-               Craft activities,

-               Prevention of behavioral addictions,

-               Polish language classes

-               Visiting local places of interest (open-air museum, bison farm, palace)

-               Providing meals

Participants of the program have increased their capabilities to better adapt in new circumstances, deal with challenges related to change of the environment, having to function in different culture and language.

Blue Cross Poland  has enabled participation in activities during which children and youth acquired skills and knowledge to build self- confidence  and build skills to live in a new setting. Blue Cross Poland is now continuing the work with children on regular basis. We thank you for your support and hope that you can support us further to continue this important integration work.

The Blue Cross Ukraine has had incredibly tough months since the Russian attack on Ukraine started. Located in Mariupol they had to evacuate women, children, elderly people to other locations in and out of Ukraine. Before the evacuation each day was very stressful and it was not possible to predict what was going to happen. With the blessing of donations the local team has been able to cover most of the basic needs of service users. The mental strength and commitment of BC Ukraine staff and service users has been extraordinary and their good co-operation has saved many lives. We cannot find words to describe all different phases that also led to the evacuation of BC Ukraine.

IBC motto is Doing it Together and at this difficult time, it has been through the solidarity of the other European Countries and people world wide that support has been reaching the most vulnerable people. Currently the European Blue Crosses support the Ukrainian refugees and the vulnerable people who have had to leave as refugees to other countries.

International Blue Cross is supporting this work with women and children especially by supporting Blue Cross Poland and Blue Cross Romania at their local activities with refugees. Blue Cross work is long term social support and resettlement support that help people to keep life free from alcohol and other drug related harm and build hope of better future. Giving people meaningful and safe occupation is also important and BC organisations are supporting groups and activities that provide support for wellbeing. It is most inspiring to see your commitment to support the vulnerable people and we are thankful for all your important donations.