Project title:

‘Home care and support for people fleeing the war in Drohobych, Ukraine’

1. Background

Present in Drohobych, Ukraine since 1997, the brothers of the Hospitaller Order began their apostolate by initially opening a community, an outpatient clinic and a medical dispensary within the premises of a city hospital. The brothers also took care of the lonely elderly and the terminally ill.

In 2014, with the outbreak of the crisis in Donbass, an initial wave of refugees, up to 600 a month, from eastern Ukraine arrived in Drohobych. They were mainly Crimean Tatar families and (Russian-speaking) Ukrainian families from Donbass.

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, a new wave of refugees reached the city. The local community, together with the Polish Province, immediately mobilised with medical, material and financial aid. In March 2022, the General Curia of the Hospitaller Order set up a Ukraine emergency coordination group with the main task of managing fundraising from the Order's Provinces. The first requests were for medical equipment.

The support of the Polish Province and the Provinces of the Order continues today in the form of regular assistance (shipments of food, medical supplies, personal hygiene products, cleaning products, clothing and more) and targeted assistance (for special orders - such as 3 fire engines, 2 ambulances, 2 transport vans, 1 hearse, power generators, etc.).

In total, over 50 tonnes of aid were sent to Ukraine.

In 2024 alone, the Drohobych community helped around 9,000 people, distributing food parcels, medicines, personal hygiene products, clothes, basic medical equipment and household appliances. Currently, the community receives around 200 people a month from Drohobych and the surrounding areas, in addition to the 400 war refugees from eastern Ukraine.

Together with the material aid, the Polish Brothers have never stopped providing moral support and spiritual guidance to the people fleeing the war, maintaining a constant presence.

2. General Objective

To guarantee home care and psychological, health and material support to people fleeing the war in Drohobych, improving their living conditions and favouring their integration into the host community.

3. Specific Objectives

· Provide home medical care to war victims, with particular attention to the most vulnerable groups (people with disabilities, widows, orphans, the elderly, war amputees).

· Offer psychological and social support to alleviate post-traumatic stress.

· Distribute essential goods (food, medicine, blankets, personal hygiene products).

· Training local volunteers and operators to guarantee sustainable assistance over time.

4. Beneficiaries

· War widows and orphans

· Wounded soldiers

· Refugees from eastern Ukraine

· Lonely and destitute elderly people

5. Planned Activities

· Home healthcare provision of basic healthcare

· Psychological and social support, moral and spiritual support for the victims of the conflict

· Distribution of essential goods

· Community training and involvement

6. Expected results

· Improvement of living conditions

· Increased access to health services for vulnerable people.

· Promotion of social and community integration by fostering a community support network between displaced persons and local residents

· Strengthening of local capacities and the local support network

7. Budget

Estimated budget: 400,000 euros