On Sunday 27.03 in the parish of Bytom took place two collections for Ukraine. Parishioners collected school supplies for 25 Ukrainian children who have started to learn in a nearby school. Moreover, they collected funds for sister Lucyna Grząśko, a Verbist who works in Radio Maryja in Kiev, and for people from pastoral ministry in Kiev. The story of s. Lucyna is very moving, as she is working devotedly in besieged Kiev. The collection was organized by her sister Anna, who is also a religious and works in Bytom – that is why the action was called: “From sister to sister”.
The first refugees settled in the parish house in Bytom already on 28 February. A group of three women and four children arrived then. Four days later a mother with two children joined them. A big support for the newcomers is the fact that they know each other. Unfortunately, one of the ladies had to return to Ukraine shortly after arriving:
One mum left her son in the care of friends and returned to Ukraine because her parents are in such a state of health that they are not able to travel for a long time. Within two weeks, she arranged for her parents to be taken into the care of her brother and on the 15th of March she came back to Bytom. So since that day 10 people have been living with us. – informs Fr. Superior Mirosław Bożek SJ.
The refugees were also received by individual families in the parish. To coordinate the help for the people from Ukraine, a special parish team was established. In addition, a group of parishioners have created team of volunteers.
In the parish there is also a former school building, where about 60 people are temporarily accommodated. Volunteers from the nearby high school – teachers and students – help there.
The Ukrainian refugees also want to return the favour as far as possible and are themselves involved in helping:
For the first week our guests received lunch in our religious house. Then we succeeded in installing a recently unused four-burner electric cooker in the common room which they use. The ladies are very happy to be able to cook for themselves. They also asked how they could repay us – what could they do? They engaged in cleaning the of the church and started to volunteer at the food distribution point, which they use.
In recent weeks, it has also been possible to organize activities for Ukrainian children in Bytom’s schools. The city also organizes various additional Ukrainian activities. Thanks to the involvement of the parish, three teenagers living in the parish have started to train football in the Polonia Bytom club.
The generosity and mobilization of parishioners and, more broadly, inhabitants of Bytom is surprising. The refugees are very grateful for their great kindness and openness. At the same time, they miss Ukraine and look forward to returning to their homes:
We hear hopeful sighs from our guests: „maybe already in a week or two it will be possible to return home!”.
