Katia with her two daughters (5 and 8 year old) escaped from a small city Bidryhay, which is not far from Kharkiv. They could not afford to come by car and their husbands were all called for active duty so they could not help them with the journey. Even if they were home they didn’t have enough gas to even reach Kyiv. Katia, together with some other women from her town, decided to go on foot to a small city called Merefa. On the way, somebody helped and arranged a bus which was double packed but still was more comfortable than going on foot. They managed to reach Dniepropietrowska and from there they took a train going west to Poland. After a three-day trip, they arrived at the border in Medyka. Upon crossing the border they were offered a bus to Krakow and from there they came to Tenczyn to Zdzisiek and Monika. Since the 8th of March they have not heard any news from their loved ones who stayed back home. Their only news from that area is that their home village was totally destroyed, similar to every other village in a 30 km wide radius around Kharkiv.

Viki is five months pregnant. Her husband is a professional soldier and was mobilized on the 18th of February to protect the local population from the Russian invaders. He is protecting the president’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s home city Kryvyi Rih. Since he was called for army duty he has been home only once for one night.

On the 1st of March, news came that the war front is getting closer and closer, and it is only 100km from them. On her husband’s advice, she decided to take her daughter and mother-in-law and travel to Lviv. From there, like many others, they decided to come to Poland. The next day bombs started falling on her home city. The Russians destroyed the local school, hospital, and airport. Viki, Valerie, and her mother-in-law Irena found a peaceful recluse in Tenczyn, as guests in Tomek’s house.

On the 24^th of February Natalia was brutally awakened by the explosion of a missile that fell near her house. Terrified, she quickly ran to her daughter’s room, where she found her crying under the covers. Her father was not home as he was already mobilized with his military unit ready to protect his country from the enemy. The rocket shelling accompanied by terrifying explosions lasted the entire day and night.

As soon as a small window of opportunity appeared she decided to take her daughter Zenia and together with her sister and her daughter escaped towards Lviv. After about 13 hours they managed to catch a train, however they were forced to leave most of their baggage, to make room for additional refugees.

In Lviv, together with thousands of other women and children they made the decision to head towards the border with Poland. They arrived at the border after 30 hours, which is only 80km away, after a gruesome journey, exhausted and very cold. They came to Krakow after 3 days and stayed overnight with a friend. Afterwards they were picked up by Tomek, who took them to Tenczyn and placed them with Ewelina, where they finally found refuge.* When the children saw the rooms that were prepared for them, they smiled the first time in a very long time. Together with her sister they call their husbands and the children call their fathers, with a beating heart, worried and scared until the phone is answered, not knowing whether they are still alive.

Their fathers, now soldiers, fighters for freedom and justice, cannot say much, in order to keep their units safe. They manage only a few sentences before disconnecting and then they wait a couple of hours to hear from them again, telling them that they are alive.


* You can see both Tomek and Ewelina in the above video.

My name is Julia Newidoma. I come from Terebowla - Tarnopol Province. My grandmother, Zosia, was Polish. I studied at the Berezsan Technical Institute, worked in a bank as an accountant. Until February 28, 2022, I lived with my husband and my son Arsen in a small apartment. On that memorable Wednesday our world collapsed.

At 4.00 am my friend called and told me to get ready and pack all my essentials because the Russians attacked our county and we would have to flee. After hearing that, I could not sleep anymore. At 8.00 am I went to the ATM, the queue was very long. They paid out only 3,000 UAH per person. At the station, people were only allowed to purchase 10 liters of fuel. Together with my mom, we made a decision that we were going to Poland, to our friends in Tenczyn. Dad didn't want to go. He stayed to look after his hens and ducks. He was a farmer all his life and he could not leave his flock to its fate. My husband is a farmer too. He works in a large agricultural company. He has to take care of the wheat fields so that there is no hunger in my country. At night he has his farm to take care of and during the day he helps people fleeing Kiev. He is ready at any moment to go to fight for Ukraine because he is a soldier in reserves. The nights and days were very restless, everyone was very scared. We were told to put on warm clothes in case of the bomb alarm and go and hide in the basement. The sound of sirens will stay in my mind forever. I knew I had to run away.

My husband could not take me to the border because the fuel would not last for the road of 300 km. I called the drivers and looked for them on Facebook. Everyone wanted to take me to the border but for the amount of money I could not afford. Finally my husband found the right person. We were supposed to go to Lublin by bus. The bus was for 70 people, but there were 94 people on board. The driver asked someone to get out, because it would be too crowded, but no one listened. We drove 32 hours. The children were seated in the seats, and we were sitting on the floor in the middle. It was very crowded, hot and humid.

A woman with four children sat next to me. For the rest of my life, I will remember her tired face. She was breastfeeding the youngest child, and she gave another child something to eat. She tried to do her best to keep her children happy and quiet. Finally we got to the border. When we crossed it we were astonished to see so many volunteers helping and welcoming us to Poland. There were snacks, water, and sweets free for everyone to take. 

In Lublin, we approached and asked a policeman what to do next. We got a free ride to the train station and we boarded the train to Kraków. When we waited for the train to leave the Polish volunteers offered us free food and drink. Help coming from Poland is enormous and unprecedented. In Kraków, Sławek was waiting for us. He took us to Tenczyn. I would like to thank him for his support and help. He picked us up in Kraków in the middle of the night and took us to our new house. Once again thank you!
 

Day care from 3pm - 6pm Monday to Thursday for kids is in place!!! The kids are taught Polish and English, they play and exercise. Friday is a sports day - mostly soccer - I mean: the real football!

Some of the ladies already started working, thanks to the volunteers' connections.

As of today, a system of vouchers is being distributed!! A few birds shot at the same time: the guests can buy clothing on their own and what they like, money supports local businesses that had been supporting the refugees, it works better than just giving cash. Just today 67 vouchers were given away! THANKS TO YOU!!

The Volunteer Fire Department has a very successful youth orchestra, they invited the guests with kids to one of their rehearsals.

Tenczyn's group of ladies who meet to keep the traditions of regional cuisine going, invited the guests and they were cooking together. What a tasty fun!

Thank you for all your help and prayers.

The daycare was opened last Monday, interest was moderate - about 20 attendees showed up. But the following day- Tuesday - there were so many guests on the second day, the organizers had to ask adults to wait outside or come back later, because they could not accommodate all the potential participants inside! A decision was immediately made to rent out another big room in the same building (soccer club facility), to be able to conduct acclivities and keep up with the demands.

Also, they have been approached by Ukrainian women who asked and insisted to have classes of Polish language. It looks like some of them want to settle down and are ready to move on with as much as it is possible: communicating with locals, finding a job, feeling comfortable, etc. So, our volunteers will be adding additional hours, after the daycare, for the adults' classes.

I talked to T. last night and he says the core people are getting more volunteers now, as the news spread around about this regular, although impromptu, daycare center. 

We spoke today with the local Pastor, Fr. Marek. It was great to speak to them and exchange initial information about their needs and mutual cooperation. They are looking forward to working together.

Current immediate needs:

1. A preschool for the little kids to be organized from scratch, with everyday programs. Estimated monthly cost: $2000.

3. Proper clothing & shoes (outdoor & indoor) for school for the kids. Cost $1500.

2. Spring shoes - refugees came with winter boots, very often they were not able to take anything with them. Estimated cost: $3900.

3. A need to organize teachers of Polish language for adults.