“We came back being even more oppressed, but that experience forced us to get up and continue carrying out our tasks”, — says Father Veslav Dorosh about the work of Caritas-Spes of the Lviv Archdiocese
Lviv has become a transit center for our Caritas-Spes Mission. Humanitarian aid trucks come here, and from here they go all over Ukraine: first to regional humanitarian hubs, then by trucks, buses, cars, and even trains to the most remote villages of the frontline zone. Father Veslav, Caritas-Spes Director of the Lviv Archdiocese, described how the Caritas-Spes team in Lviv immediately responded to the new challenges.
Before russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Caritas-Spes Lviv office operated in a usual mode. The staff worked on projects involving children, the elderly and families in need. On February 24, the first bombings of Ukraine radically changed everything. On the first day of the war, the anti-crisis headquarters of Caritas-Spes of the Lviv Archdiocese was convened, and cooperation with charitable organizations was established.
On February 25, the first hours of the Mission's work in Lviv began with the immediate provision of humanitarian assistance to people traveling to the borders from all over Ukraine.
“The first days were challenging. We saw women with children standing on the road, waiting their turn to cross the border. Women standing at the railway station with two or three children not knowing who was going to pick them up by car to take them to the border. There was bother in their eyes because they did not know where they were fleeing. These were very difficult moments,” — Father Veslav shared.
Father said that for the first two or three weeks, the Caritas-Spes team in Lviv lived in cars and slept on the go. Workers and volunteers drove people to the borders in their cars, drove back and loaded humanitarian aid. The team provided accommodation, food and medicine for many people who went abroad.
“For the first three weeks, almost no one from the team said that he/she was tired and needed some rest. As we say it, we had neither holidays nor Sundays. It was like a one big day for all us,” — added the Father. — “We slept when our consciousness said good night.
We took a lot of people from Lviv and transported them to the border, so we now know what dozens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people in line look like. We saw queues for 50 kilometers where people left their cars. Mothers and children walked 20-30 kilometers to reach the border. In this calamity, we could help in some way: whether to drive, feed, or provide shelter for the night, so that people could hide from snow and rain.”
After the team experienced a severe outflow of people abroad and the situation more or less stabilized, Caritas-Spes of the Lviv Archdiocese began to help the eastern regions with humanitarian aid through a new logistics structure. This approach required careful handling with documents. Daily work with papers started to exhaust the staff of the Lviv branch, so the team decided to personally get into trucks and carry humanitarian aid to see firsthand the people they serve. The team agreed with military administrations that the aid would go directly from Caritas-Spes Ukraine to the people in need.
“The first time we went to Irpin and Bucha. We were already there on the third day after the liberation of these cities. We also visited the villages nearby Irpin. People greeted us as if we were liberating these cities. We were applauded, and the grandmothers knelt and thanked us for bringing the products. It really hurt to look at all of that. Then we went to Chernihiv and its environs, later on to Kyiv and Odesa.
My idea was to recharge our enthusiasm and desire,” — said the Father. “We were overloaded with work and we wanted to explore this experience to lift our spirits. We came back being even more oppressed. But that experience forced us to get up and continue carrying out our tasks.”
Father Veslav noted that humanitarian aid changes the situation of people for a few days, for a week at most. People get help and then wait for the next one.
“Of course, they are very grateful for the help provided, but it is not sufficient for a longer period. Help gives a sense of change and supports their survival, nothing more. It doesn't solve a problem for people who lost everything. You have to understand what happened with the mental state of people who experienced evil — who witnessed murders or rapes. We understand that the situation remains unstable, and the war is not over. And the missiles exploding in the Lviv region and the fighting in the East and South of Ukraine are evidence of this.
Now Caritas-Spes of the Lviv Archdiocese is moving to the next stage of work — providing psychological support. Of course, there’s still great need for humanitarian aid. Our plans include projects related to reconstruction, because Ukraine will win.” – Concluded the Father.
Father Veslav also shared a story when he and his team were on the verge of death.
“I stood in the face of death. One day we were driving in trucks on a narrow road accompanied by a military convoy. We were mostly led by roads where we could pass. But we could not move half a meter to the right or left. There was still a part of the road that could be driven through. Even if you had to go to the bathroom, you couldn't do it because there was no roadside.
The whole road was blocked by burnt cars and equipment. On the side, the military made a small passage for their cars. And we had to drive there by truck. I drove the first car as an experienced driver, so I managed to pass. And the other car got stuck. I immediately jumped out and started grabbing some pieces of concrete and throwing under the wheels. Then I heard the soldiers shouting and running away. And there I was, holding a piece of concrete in my hand, realizing that there could be a trip wire or a mine. It was a very difficult trip...
When we left Chernihiv, it was a Roman Catholic Easter. We had to spent a night near Kyiv because the curfew had already begun and came under bombardment. A rocket fell and exploded 800 meters from us. I will remember this explosion for the rest of my life, this sound cannot be compared to anything. The other day I was in an institution where someone just slammed the door, and unconsciously, I immediately jumped to my feet. I can only imagine the changes in the psyche of people who have been under fire for a long time. I believe so many more different programs and projects will be needed to get the war out of a man. It is easier to get a man out of a war than a war out of a man,” — added Fr. Veslav Dorosh.
Since February 24, Caritas-Spes Ukraine has received more than 240 humanitarian cargoes. Today, the Mission has 2 reception points in Lviv and Transcarpathia, 6 regional humanitarian hubs and 14 local humanitarian centers. We thank our partners for their continued support. And to our employees and volunteers for their work bringing us closer to the victory. Apart from assisting Ukraine, Caritas-Spes Lviv continues to take care of the local projects: cuisine for the poor, centers for migrants, family-type orphanages and all the social programs operating in the Lviv Archdiocese.
