PCPM Foundation in cooperation with UNHCR supported refugees in Lublin. Aid reached more than 4,000 families

The PCPM Foundation wished to reach the most needy families in Lubelskie Voivodeship. A total of 4075 families were registered during the project, and that’s a total of 9,000 people!

Assistance to thousands of people thanks to cooperation with UNHCR

The Polish Center for International Aid project was funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). During this project, the Foundation cooperated with Social Assistance Centers, which helped identify refugees who were in extremely difficult financial situations. PCPM Foundation staff reached out to places of public accommodation in local government and private centers. Together with the Foundation, local organizations also went to such places to support refugees with legal assistance, among other things.

The PCPM Foundation team went to towns and cities outside of Lublin itself to level the playing field for Ukrainian refugees living in smaller towns in the region to receive assistance. In this way, aid additionally went to 232 families.

The refugees were registered to the program by Ukrainian-speaking staff. Among them were people who had escaped from the war and were employed by the PCPM Foundation. Thanks to this, the refugees were able to feel more comfortable and more easily absorb all the procedures surrounding the program.

Beneficiaries were mostly single mothers with young children, but also people with disabilities and senior. Thanks to mobile registrations, the PCPM Foundation extended the program to refugees who had difficulty reaching a Lublin. At the same time, foundation staff registered people from Ukraine in Lublin. The aid payments were paid for a period of three months and targeted those who had not yet received any support.

The places we reached with aid were Pulawy, Deblin, Biala Podlaska, Janow Podlaski, Chelm, Tomaszow Lubelski, Okuninka, Wlodawa, Konopnica, Wólka Cycowska, Piaski, Bystrzejowice, Zamosc, Szczebrzeszyn, Krasnobrod, Krasnystaw, Janow Lubelski, Naleczow, Kraśnik, Lubartow, Parczew.

RENOVATION AND THERMAL MODERNIZATION OF REFUGEE CENTERS

In addition to the program of financial support for refugees, the PCPM Foundation also implemented repairs to the places of their housing in the Lubelskie Voivodeship.

The whole process was conducted in cooperation with local government institutions with funding from UNHCR. Local government units, which have been supporting refugees since the beginning, identified the most depleted places. These are eight places – five in Lublin and three in the Lubelskie Voivodeship.

The work mainly included thermal upgrades to the buildings like replacing windows or doors, and minor operational repairs. All renovation work took place at the end of 2022. The idea behind the project was that the PCPM Foundation wanted to prepare the renovated centers for a possible new arrival of refugees from Ukraine. Most of them would be escaping not only from war, but also from the cold. That’s why it was important that the rooms where they would stay were warm.

We renovated not only the facilities in Lublin, but also buildings in places such as Hrubieszow, Okuninka and Ossowa. These are very significant, as they are located next to the border with Ukraine. The users and residents of the buildings were extremely grateful for the help.

– It was very emotional, they invited the workers for coffee and cake. They wanted, at least in this way, to repay for the fact that their apartments would finally be free of wind through holes and leaks in the windows,” says Magdalena Sośnia, of the PCPM Foundation. As she adds – in the village of Okuninka, people thanked us that they will not have to sit indoors in jackets.

The facilities that have been renovated are: Lublin Center for Vocational Education in Lublin, High School No. 5 in Lublin, Lublin City Hall, Tailoring Vocational School in Lublin, School Hostel “Krokodyl” in Okuninka, Teacher’s House in Ossow, High school No. 4 in Hrubieszow and Elementary School No. 30 in Lublin.