Two days ago, first refugees arrived to the Jesuit community in Gdynia: a young couple with three young children. After the hardships of escaping from Ukraine, they finally found a safe place. It is very difficult, that even there they difficulties have not finished, as one of their children had to be urgently transported to the Provincial Oncological Center in Gdansk due to an illness.
There are more refugees in the area, who have been received by parishioners. Still, the parish and the Jesuit community in Gdynia are preparing themsleves for receiving more people from Ukraine:
We are preparing rooms in the crown of the church that can accommodate about 24 people, and we also intend to make use of guest rooms in the community house. Apart from that we are in the process of preparing 20 places for refugees in other places in parish. – informs Fr. Rector Piotr Szymański SJ.
Gdynia also plans to cooperate with the Provincial Oncological Centre in Gdansk in receiving families, whose children suffer from oncological diseases, if there will be such need.
At the same time in Gdynia, already in the first days after the outbreak of the conflict, two places were created to collect gifts for Ukraine. They continue their activities. One of the collections is coordinated by the “Gaudium Vitae” community, the second – by the Jesuit School in Gdynia. The community “Love and Serve” helps in both actions.
People report to us that they need a bed, clothes or other specific items and we do our best to provide them with them. – says Jan Majda, Jesuit who works at the school. He adds that the aim of collection is to help families and institutions in the region, which have accepted refugees.
There are also other initiatives at the school. Yesterday, as part of the „Lectures on Education” series, Ms. Anna Rogowska-Zach, a specialist in child and adolescent psychotherapy, gave information on how to help children and young people affected by trauma. Students, in turn, took the initiative to show around the city to people coming from Ukraine.
