A Ukrainian Refugee in Poland Finds Purpose in Giving Back

Nataliia has always wanted to work in the humanitarian sector. She started her career in 2018 in Ukraine at the International Committee of the Red Cross, supporting communities in the Eastern regions who were affected by the ongoing conflict with the Russian Federation since 2014.  

In March 2022, shortly after the war escalated in Ukraine, she fled her country to Poland with her two children and began looking for a new job.   

“I received temporary accommodation here [in Warsaw, Poland] with my family. I joined the International Rescue Committee as a Cash and Basic Needs Officer from May until August 2022, before finding a job at IOM in Poland.”

Today, Nataliia leads the Cash-Based Assistance (CBI) Programme implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Poland.  

“We register people that belong to the most vulnerable categories and provide them with cash assistance for three months to cover their basic needs,” she explains.   

IOM’s CBI Programme supports Ukrainians and third country nationals who fled Ukraine as of 24 February 2022, and who find themselves in vulnerable situations (e.g. single parents, families with dependents, those living with disabilities, the elderly, etc).

Working with local partners, IOM registers eligible individuals at the shelters it supports across Poland, as well as at border crossing points. 

Since February 2022, IOM has provided multipurpose cash assistance amounting to almost USD 3 million to over 7,500 individuals fleeing the war in Ukraine.  

With the crisis in Ukraine passing the one-year mark in February 2023, more people than ever require support in meeting their most basic needs. Thanks to the work of Nataliia and her team, many will be in a better position to do so.  

When asked about her favourite part of the job, Nataliia doesn’t hesitate: “I am Ukrainian myself. I can imagine how difficult it is to be here without any understanding of your future, without any social protection. I want to be supportive, because I come from similar circumstances.” 

She goes on to explain that when the communities that IOM assists learn that her city was also impacted by the war, they become closer. ‘’It’s easier for us to communicate, not least because we speak the same language,” she adds.  

IOM’s CBI Programme in Poland is made possible with the support of donors such as the United States Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the United Kingdom’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, and the United Nations’ Central Emergency Response Fund.   

By Lauren Honey, Social Media Manager, IOM Poland