Your Kindness Provides Safety During Conflict: An Update From Jenya, A Ukrainian Refugee

Report by: Yevheniia Ivanova (Jenya) - Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) Officer at Oxfam’s reception centre in Poland.

It’s been six months since the conflict started and, at first, there were a lot of people, big waves were coming… and coming, and coming.

Then in May, things became less predictable. Some days over a thousand people pass through, others about 70 or 80 people. Just like the situation in my homeland of Ukraine, every day is unpredictable here. Changeable. The displacement is ongoing, we don’t know how much longer it will last.

Thanks to the generosity of supporters like you and the global community, we’ve been able to put so much in place since the conflict broke out to eliminate the suffering upon arrival.

Now, we’re able to provide families with Oxfam’s WASH services (Water, Sanitation and hygiene), things like laundry, hygiene items and water. They also need information on accommodation and registration, and we see if there are opportunities to provide medical or financial assistance.

I go out to the largest reception centre in the region almost every day. It’s in Tesco in Przemysl. There, we provide showers, portaloos, sinks, handwashing stations, and hygiene points. We also give out hygiene items, clothing, sheets, bedding, and offer laundry services too. The work we’re doing is making a difference – a very real difference – to people’s lives. Particularly those with mobility issues or with special needs.

I moved to Poland because I wanted to help. I want to be useful. I believe that its always best to do something to help, you don’t need to ask other people, you can just do something.

That’s why I like my work with Oxfam. I’ve learned so many things and it’s been hugely rewarding. But life is not easy as a refugee, you leave your whole life behind.

I worry about my family. Twice now, I’ve lost contact with them because of poor connections. I didn’t sleep at all on either night.

They are in Ukraine’s Donetsk region and, two months ago, because of the war, Ukrainian companies closed. That’s when my father and my mother lost their work.

They don’t want to leave. Especially my grandparents, they’ve lived there all their lives. More than seventy years. And they have a big house, a big farm, and it’s their whole lives.

Sometimes, I feel guilty to be in a safe place. But my work helped me to overcome this self-blaming.

At one point, I had my future in Ukraine planned out. It was an easy plan. I wanted to work in pharmaceuticals and start a family with my fiancé. But every Ukrainian person had some plans about their career, about their future, and now things have changed. Who knows how long it will be before we can have a normal life in Ukraine?

But when we can, I’ll be ready. I finished my masters in May – I am now a Master of Pharmacy. April was a very hard month for me, working for Oxfam and submitting and defending my thesis, but I did it.

And I can use what I know to help people here. I can offer their first medical assistance when they arrive from Ukraine. So, although I no longer know what the future holds, I like what I’m doing now, it's important and it gives me a sense of satisfaction to help my country fellows.

About one month ago, I met a volunteer from Ireland in the reception centre in Przemysl. I asked him what he was doing there. He said he just wanted to help. I couldn’t believe that someone could be so kind. I just want to say, and I think that all of my fellow Ukrainians would say the same   -  

”Thank you to everyone who just wants to help, who are not indifferent. “