Disaster Response Ukraine Project #55618

Help Ukrainian refugees

by Fondazione La Stampa Specchio dei tempi onlus

Project Report | Mar 14, 2022
Between Romania and Poland: supplies, shelter and Specchio Village

By Federico De Andrea | Donor Relations Manager

A fully loaded bus leaving for the Ukrainian borde

Every day, at least one bus leaves Turin.

All of them are fully loaded. On board there are mainly foodstuffs with long shelf life, hygiene products, mattresses, cots, pillows, medicines and various medical supplies (with particular demand for syringes, bandages, plasters and disinfectants). The travels revealed to be more complicated than what expected, due to both long lines and waiting times on the border and snow fallen in the past days.

There are two main destinations. The former, the village of Korczowa, in the Polish province of Javroslaw (1.5km from the Ukrainian border), where additionally on Tuesday, March 15th, a new bus of 35 quintals of medicines with a nurse is headed to. The other common destionation is Sivet, in northern Romania, where we bring our supplies.

Other points of interest are Suceava, Romania, where our buses can gather and carry to Italy more than 50 refugees per time, and Cervici, Ukraine, 30km from Romania.

Here in Cervici we are also building the Specchio Village, a system of tensile structures and a school (allowed by the local administration). The reason is simple: Cervici is a crowded crossing point for many Ukrainian fleeing their homeland and the Village will provide shelter, food, supplies and time for parents while their kids are at school. In the following days, two mobile clinics will likely join the Village-shelter to provide medical services.

The Village will be completed on and operating by Monday, March 21st.

Loading the buses

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Mar 7, 2022
What we are doing for Ukrainian refugees

By Federico De Andrea | Donor Relations Manager

A kid on his way to Italy

The first emergency

Hundreds of thousands of refugees crossing the Polish and Hungarian borders. At the very beginning of this crisis, we contacted voluntary associations, local authorities and journalists from local newspapers in those countries to get a good understanding: it was clear that, while there were no problems on the Hungarian border (the Hungarian reception system was efficient and met all the needs of those arriving), the situation on the two main routes between Ukraine and Poland was quite different. On Monday, February 28, the first shuttles, financed and supported by Specchio dei tempi, were already on their way to these areas. On Wednesday night, March 2, the first refugees arrived in Italy, reaching first Brescia and then Turin.

A 'shuttle chain' for humanitarian aid

Since then, the shuttle service has been running on a daily basis: 9-seater and 54-seater buses have already left and will be frequently used from now onwards. On their way to the border, the buses also carry basic necessities: foodstuffs with a long shelf life, personal hygiene products, medicines and medical supplies (syringes, bandages, plasters, disinfectants)

Welcoming Ukrainian refugees in Turin

Meanwhile, in Turin, the institutional Coordination Committee of the Piedmont Region has entrusted Specchio dei tempi with the task of assisting the families of arriving refugees, offering them immediate economic support. Concerning this point, in close collaboration with the Ukrainian Consulate and its volunteers, an emergency phone number has been activated.

What we'll do this week

Our programs include intensified connections with the borders to transport refugees to Italy, but also to send medical suppliers and food to those who have decided to stay in Ukrain: some want to fight, some are unable to move for health reasons, some feel simply attached to their homeland.

We will continue to stay close to the Ukrainian people, thanks to you and those who will support us to be even more incisive and bring comfort to desperate people.

Supermarkets reconverted in shelters for refugees

Refugees arriving in Italy

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