Caritas-Spes Odesa. How the team develops a powerful partner network abroad and overcomes war challenges in Southern Ukraine.
Odesa region is constantly hit by missile attacks. It is increasingly becoming a target for attacks by Russian troops in the war against Ukraine. A million population city is under the warships’ sights. The city receives humanitarian aid from Caritas-Spes Odesa every single day. Despite its proximity to the front line, Odesa remains one of the most peaceful major cities in Ukraine. However, since the end of April, the city has also been hit by Russian rockets.
How to be effective abroad and help forced migrants in this situation? How to change the creative environment and develop new character traits during the war, but at the same time keep mercy and love in the soul and give hope? We spoke with the director of Caritas-Spes Odesa, Fr. Petro Rosokhatskyi and a logistician Oksana Ukraiinska about new challenges for the regional team and internal motivation to continue serving people, despite the explosions, as well as about the threat of rocket shelling.
"I understand people who leave everything and go nowhere"
Service of Fr. Petro Rosohatskyi, the director of Caritas-Spes Odesa, started in Ukraine with Crimea. From 2007 till 2015, the father was an abbot of the Roman Catholic church in Simferopol. The violent annexation of Crimea, as well as the pseudo-referendum, which is not recognized by Ukraine and most countries, deprived the father of the opportunity to stay and continue his spiritual activity there. At the invitation of Bishop Bronislav Bernatskyi, Fr. Petro moved to Odesa, became the director of our Mission in a new city and experienced forced migration himself.
"Russia gave me no opportunity to stay. I became the director of Caritas-Spes Odesa due to the annexation of Crimea.
The issue of refugees, IDPs and those in need is very close to me. I am a Pole, but I have experienced it myself. I am also a refugee from Crimea. It was easier for me to move than for people with families, but I spent eight years in Crimea, and it became a second home for me. Along with my parishioners, I was under annexation in Simferopol for about a year. Their decisions whether to stay or not have also become a part of my life. This experience was very helpful and now I understand people who leave everything and go nowhere very well."
The father said that during the annexation, no one knew what would happen next. Russian tanks were driving in Crimea, "little green men" were walking around the cities.
"The situation was difficult. People with a pro-Ukrainian position left, daring to start everything from scratch. However, many simply had nowhere to go."
"The team's focus has always been on children"
On February 20, 2014, the armed occupation of Crimea began. This date is officially recognized by Verkhovna Rada as the beginning of the temporary occupation of the peninsula. Fr. Petro experienced Russian-Ukrainian wars twice: the annexation of Crimea and the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
"A week before the start of the full-scale invasion, the team of Caritas-Spes Odesa and I were discussing our actions in case of war. The situation was tense. I knew it wouldn't be easy from my Crimean experience.
When I woke up to the first explosion on February 24, I was sure that the war had begun. On that day, a meeting of directors of Caritas-Spes Ukraine took place in Odesa. We quickly agreed on the urgent issues and went back to our centers
I wanted to organize the work of Caritas-Spes Odesa employees, as we have a pretty large team on two projects - 20 people in total. We understood it was time to organize aid, but did not know back then what we could offer to those in need. We also didn't know what we would need ourselves."
In peacetime, the Caritas-Spes Odesa team led two projects - a program to support social centers for HIV-positive children and House of Hope educational center for children and youth. Our workers worked in three medical offices, consulted families with HIV-positive children, provided psychological and food support to such families. Since 2012, House of Hope teachers have been conducting classes on Religion, English, computer science and creative workshops. Around 120 children a year attended extracurricular activities conducted by Caritas-Spes Odesa employees every day.
The team's focus has always been on children. Besides, our employees led projects related to the support of forced migrants from Crimea, large families and families in difficult life circumstances, organized children's education in Poland and children's camps.
After February 24, Odesa Caritas activists suspended project activities for a month and began organizing humanitarian aid in the city and region. From March 9, they began to carry out open distribution of food packages from their office. Caritas-Spes Odesa was the first to start providing humanitarian aid in the city. Today, in addition to the warehouse and office, supported by the city authorities, the organization received two more locations, launched on May 4. One is for clothes distribution, the other one is for hygiene products and baby food. To date, the Caritas-Spes Odesa team has received 29 trucks with humanitarian aid.
Assistance in Odesa is also provided through the network of the RCC parishes. The father said that the priests actively joined the work and came to collect humanitarian aid for their parishes.
"We have suspended the work of children's centers and medical offices. I went to Poland to organize aid for Odesa. Together with "Caritas Poland" in Warsaw, I helped organize a hub for Ukrainians. Fr. Viacheslav and I came to terms that we need a representative office in Poland. Now I have a lot of office work, as I'm assisting the Warsaw team in finding solutions regarding the transportation of aid, preparing documentation for projects, conducting negotiations, etc. Polish partners often ask what we are in need of. I am in contact with my team every day, therefore, I am well-informed on the current needs of the southern region.
Our employees managed to set up such a hub in Odesa. We opened a large warehouse where we accept products, clothes and personal hygiene products, as well as opened three new aid distribution points in Odesa. These places were provided to us free of charge by our partners. Part of the cargo goes to us from Europe through the central warehouse in Lviv, other - within the framework of the project "Response to emergency situations and the consequences of hostilities in Ukraine". We also accept trucks from partners who we worked with directly before the war.
Together with partners from Vienna, we launched a project within which we issue certificates and vouchers for products and hygiene items in one of the store chains in Odesa. We hope to launch the project and provide financial assistance to people. The economic situation in the region is very difficult, that is why we hold all-Ukrainian tenders for the purchase of food products in large volumes, supporting the Ukrainian economy.
"There is hope in the name of Caritas-Spes"
Working with humanitarian aid is not only about delivery, but also about coordination of the efforts of a large team of volunteers who receive goods in the warehouse, sort the aid and transport it to the delivery points. The Caritas-Spes Odesa mission was actively supported by the families of the workers and their friends. This helped to form mobile groups that provide assistance to the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions.
"We had to change our workstyle and be quick to react. After the opening of the hotline, we began to accept applications from the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, and based on the lists of those in need, humanitarian aid was delivered. When Mykolaiv ran out of water, our volunteers went there the very next day."
Today Fr. Petro is in Poland most of the time, because this way he can ensure faster and more effective cooperation with Caritas Poland and representatives of foreign Caritas centers. The emotional state of the team is important to him, so the father regularly holds online meetings with Caritas-Spes Odesa employees, where not only work issues are settled, but personal problems as well.
"Of course, I want to return to Odesa. There is my team left, it’s so close to me. I want to believe that this is a dream, and I will wake up.
There is hope in the name of Caritas-Spes. Evil never wins. Sometimes we have questions about how it will all turn out. Jesus defeated evil. The Resurrection gives us hope that victory will be on our side."
"Father Petro asked if I could take on new responsibilities"
Oksana Ukraiinska has been working at Caritas-Spes Odesa for 7 years. Before the full-scale invasion, her life was filled with creative work with children and adults, because Oksana held classes at the House of Hope pottery studio. When the war broke out, her family decided to stay in Odesa and continue working. Oksana is now fully in charge of the logistics of humanitarian aid from our Mission in Odesa and the region.
"When my husband and I decided on staying in Odesa, Fr. Petro asked if I could take on new responsibilities and asked who was with me in the team. The situation with the workers was still unclear to me, but I had my husband and brother by my side, who volunteered to help. The Caritas-Spes Odesa team is a women's team, so we needed a lot of physical help. I don't know how I would have coped without my husband."
Oksana's first task from the director was to purchase products on her own, as the issue of the delivery of goods was still up in the air. She had to arrange a shelter in the office, on the basis of which the team began distributing food packages.
"Our new office has a basement. The task was to equip it, bring in sleeping mats, poufs, provide lighting and water supplies. Our neighbors were very happy that we opened the shelter and also joined in the arrangement. In the shelter, we set up a permanent night shift to let people in in the event of an air raid. Our people on duty packed food packages for delivery when we started doing it."
Oksana considers Caritas-Spes Odesa to serve as a large humanitarian headquarters. All employees are involved in the packaging and distribution of humanitarian aid to those in need. Currently, the team consists of 25 people, including volunteers. There are already those who register people for delivery, give away food packages, deliver goods to distribution points and make trips to the region.
Over time, Oksana's team developed a work mechanism and began to form 200 food sets per delivery. This number is explained by the capabilities of the team and the availability of help in the warehouse. Today, the team is able to cover the food needs of 100 local residents and 100 IDPs in one day. Since May 4, when the two new locations were launched, displaced persons have received another coupon for clothes, personal hygiene products and baby food, if needed, which can be used in the places near the office. The team is also developing a Telegram chatbot to speed up the remote registration process.
"We decided to start helping people we already worked with. We did not separate Odessans from IDPs. In the first days of the war, everyone was in the same boat. Then we were overwhelmed with people asking for help. To structure the queue, we started printing coupons. The team focused on how many hours we can provide assistance and how many people we can reach in this mode.
There is a notice on the gate near our office about our 200 person limit. We do not want to turn anyone away and issue coupons for the next day. Unfortunately, we can't plan that far ahead and bring a lot of people into our office yard. Moreover, a large gathering of people is dangerous."
"My life was different from what I do now"
Oksana shared that it was hard work, because the number of IDPs was growing. From morning till night she was answering the calls, as every day it was necessary to negotiate with volunteers: who could go to the warehouse, unload the truck, load the aid into smaller vans and take it to the distribution points, as well as look for people making trips to the region. Today, Oksana is engaged in reporting of the Caritas-Spes Odesa team.
"Recently, there have been frequent explosions in Odesa and the region. I have two children — an 11-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old son. Sometimes I can't stand it mentally, due to the heavy workload. I have to think about my children, call them, ask if they are scared.
While working at House of Hope I had time to be with my children in the morning, but now I am in the office from morning till evening, and then I fill out the tables till night. The workload increased, the time spent with children decreased. I often want to cry, as I am not a tough leader by nature."
At present, "Caritas-Spes Odesa" has resumed the House of Hope project, and every Tuesday there are classes with children. Oksana is happy to be able to return to her favorite activity - classes in the pottery studio.
"I'm not a graduate of an art institution, I just had a tutor. I was fond of working with children and Fr. Petro probably noticed this and offered to conduct classes with them. With the beginning of the war, I couldn't make it to the pottery circle for a long time, because there was a lot of humanitarian aid in the premises.
My life was different from what I do now. I was surrounded by creative people for whom coming at 10 a.m. on Saturdays and sculpting clay was a hobby. My hobby was to sing in a choir because I love singing. I haven't worked with clay for four months. I can't find time and energy. I follow the news all the time, very worried.
Gentle nature does not help in work, but I do not want to be tougher. For example, we have an announcement that we can give out 200 food sets a day, and I have to find the strength to say to the 201st person, "Sorry, please come the next day."
We want to help everyone, but unfortunately our resources are limited. We do our best and even more. Sometimes I think about doctors in a similar situation. They are often accused of being unempathetic. I think they can't be like that. They simply cannot feel sorry for everyone and cry for everyone."
Caritas-Spes Odesa aims at helping internally displaced families with underaged children and 60+ elderly people. Odesa residents from large families, families with children up to 3 years, and the elderly are entitled to receive assistance as well. Registration of those in need is through the hotline 0800 300 344, where the team clarifies the need and makes a list of people.
