19 Roma refugee families from Ukraine living in the Mazowsze center have received support. Mobile team of the Foundation Towards Dialogue delivered warm clothes and shoes to the shelter. This assures us that none of the 87 people (including 55 children) staying in Soczewka won’t freeze this winter.
In the first week of January, the mobile team of the Foundation Towards Dialogue visited once again the Mazowsze center in Soczewka – a place where Roma families from Ukraine live. Refugees were given down jackets, winter boots, warm underwear, tights and thick socks. All families were provided with personal care products and washing powders. Mothers with young children received additionally wet wipes, diapers and modified milk. The Foundation donated a second washing machine to the center. The first one was delivered to Soczewka in December.
Comfort and trust
Keeping in mind the comfort of those benefiting from the Foundation’s support, one of the center’s rooms was arranged for a so-called freeshop. Families could come one by one and choose the items they needed – try it on, check and examine. Everyone who is in need could also register in the Foundation’s assistance program and report their necessities. One of the coordinators of Roma community, Natasha Yazepchuk, whose relatives live in the center, played an important role during the visit to Soczewka. Thanks to her, the Foundation gained the trust of families residing in Soczewka, which in case of the Roma community is the basis for building deeper relationships. The Foundation’s mobile team that in addition to Natasha consists of Patrycja Rewerska, Rajmund Siwak and Rada Sorochynska was supported by an experienced integration assistant from the Roma community Bosman Krzyzanowski and Marlena Krzyzanowska, as well as the center’s employees and staff.
Support
Activities carried out in refugees’ centers in Przemyśl, Soczewka and Swiecice, as well as a series of workshops for NGOs are carried out within the project “Life-saving and gender-sensitive support, including in the field of reproductive health and protection against gender-based violence for all conflict-affected people in Ukraine and Poland” framework and are implemented in cooperation with CARE International in Poland and with financial support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany.
