During the summer break Charlotte Long travelled to Poland to volunteer with a charity matching Ukranian Refugees with British hosts.
‘You will have heard about the current Russian aggression toward Ukraine, or have seen it in the news. Despite the conflict not gaining as much news coverage as there was in the beginning, Ukrainian refugees need our help now more than ever.
For two weeks in July, I was fortunate enough to travel to Poland to volunteer with Ukrainians. I was stationed at the humanitarian centre in Przemysl, a town in Poland about 10km from the Ukrainian border. The humanitarian centre is an abandoned Tesco shopping centre which has steadily grown into a huge refugee hub, housing hundreds of refugees and acting as a safe haven from those having left their homes. I was out there with LoveBristol, a UK charity who are helping the refugees get sponsors and visas to allow them to come to the UK. LoveBristol were introduced to me through my friend, who went out in early June and volunteered with the team out in Warsaw.
She mentioned she was flying out to Poland to volunteer and said they were still looking for volunteers so I thought I’d give it a go! I’d never done anything like this before but wanted to do what I could to help.
‘I’ve always been interested in humanitarian work and after this volunteering trip I definitely want to pursue a career in humanitarian aid.’
We were working long days helping Ukrainians get matched with families who had signed up to the Homes for Ukraine Scheme. Once we had successful matches, we then went through the process of applying for visas and arranging travel to the UK. I really enjoyed my time in Poland, and luckily as I was part of such a great team, we were all able to rally together to help each other through any rough patches. It was hard at times not being able to help families as much as I wanted to, especially due to the limited resources and funds. I really struggled sometimes feeling like I wasn’t helping enough and getting quite frustrated that we couldn’t do more for people.
One thing I found that really helped to keep my spirits high were seeing successful matches go through, and realising that we were able to help a lot of people. A specific high point for me was flying home with a mother and daughter who were moving to the UK and uniting them with their sponsor family. It was a true testament to everyone’s hard work, and a lovely way to end my trip.
Thanks to so many British people offering up their homes for refugees to stay in, we managed to help over 600 refugees get to the UK. There were also charities from other countries, such as Germany and the Netherlands who were helping Ukrainians relocate to their countries. It was so inspiring being around so many strong and resilient people. I have recently heard that unfortunately the centre is unable to shelter people for no more than two days which has resulted in many Ukrainians being left to fend for themselves on the streets. A lot of charities and kind people are trying their hardest to do what they can for the refugees, but with the ongoing situation in Ukraine there is still a lot of people being displaced who need help.
I would 100% encourage anyone who is thinking of volunteering to give it a go! While it is hard and tough at times, it is so rewarding. The people I met in Poland will be friends for life and I am so grateful I had the opportunity to go over there.
Charlotte Long is studying for a BSc (Hons) in Anthropology.