Bridges of Solidarity: Polish volunteers offer a home and hope to Ukrainian Refugees

“It was like snow in summer,” Maria recounts, describing the initial shock of the escalation of the war in Ukraine. 
 
Maria and her family fled Melitopol, a Ukrainian city in the south-eastern region of Zaporizhzhia, during the second half of 2022. The family embarked upon a harrowing journey, where they crossed the Kerch Bridge into Russia and travelled through Latvia and Lithuania before arriving safely in Poland.  
 
“We just packed all our things into the car, although you can’t fit your whole life into a car, and we arrived here [in Poland]. Housing here is expensive for us. We are from a small town in Ukraine, and even if we had rented a house in the beginning, it would have been simply unrealistic [in the long term] for our family.”

When crossing into Latvia, Maria was able to connect to the internet and began searching for a place where the family could live in Poland. Like many other Ukrainians, she thought that the war would end soon and that they would be able to return. This was shortly before she contacted Piotr Bator, a local volunteer in Radom, Poland. It was Piotr who provided the family with a much-needed lifeline and a place to stay.

“We met Piotr completely by accident,” Maria explains. “When we were at the border between Russia and Latvia, we managed to access the Internet, and then I started looking for housing through local ads. There was a section on “Housing for Ukrainians” as part of the [Polish government’s] social assistance programme included. And just like that, we found this house and discussed about it with Piotr. He said they would accept Ukrainians for free, and that we could live here for four months. And that’s how we came here.” 

“Two years ago, when the war in Ukraine escalated, I was shocked. For a while, I withdrew into myself thinking how I could best help. I remembered that I had a house left by my grandmother, who had passed away two years before. I decided that I would just renovate it and offer accommodation to refugees, because the needs were significant at the time.”

Piotr's initiative quickly blossomed into a community-driven response to the crisis, as friends, family, and other Radom-based volunteers joined him. Shortly after, Piotr also began to cooperate with Caritas Poland, one of the largest charitable organizations in Poland, which provided specialized support to refugees.  

However, as the group in Radom began to grow, so did the scope of Piotr's assistance. It was not long before one single house turned into a dozen homes, with 80 individuals under the care of his volunteer network. With the scale of assistance needed outpacing his own capacities, Piotr realized that he needed the help of a professional organization. He was soon put in contact with Irina, a Protection Assistant at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Poland. 

“It was Piotr who brought us [IOM] to Radom, he supported refugees from the very beginning,” Irina explains. “Like many people who help outside of established institutions, he reached the limit of what he could do on his own. He turned to IOM with a plea to assist the refugees under his care, so that they would not be left without support. So, we joined our efforts, and this is how our now long-term cooperation began.”  

IOM has coordinated humanitarian response at local level across all regions in Poland. IOM’s protection teams provide translations, facilitate access to social assistance services, build the capacity of volunteers, and give practical advice to Ukrainians on their stay in Poland. In Radom, IOM supports almost 130 refugees remotely.  

“We support the residents [of Radom], as well individuals such as those that Piotr helps. We are in constant contact with Piotr, and plan to continue supporting him,” Irina adds.  

 
 
 
 
This story was written by Alex Foster, Social Media Assistant at IOM Poland.  

The activities of IOM Poland’s Protection Team are made possible with the support of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, and the European Commission.