SIEMACHA as a second home

Our assistance started a long time ago. However, in February 2022 it moved into a new chapter.

The SIEMACHA Association has been engaged in aid for Ukraine since the breakout of the war in Donbas in 2014. It was already back then that we co-organized fund-raising and collections of medical equipment for hospitals, as well as rehabilitation stays for Ukrainian soldiers in Odporyszów. The Polish-Ukrainian youth exchanges have become a permanent element of our activities.

As from March 2022, however, we started comprehensive activities supporting war refugees from Ukraine. In partnership with the City Social Aid Center in Kraków, we launched three facilities for 1,000 refugees, providing shelter, food, medical assistance and child care.

All our facilities receive school-age children, providing specialist care of pedagogues, therapists, food, legal, educational and in-kind assistance, as well as a creative peer environment.

At present, SIEMACHA’s facilities extend care to over 500 children from Ukraine.

With the honorary consul of Ukraine in Tarnów, we continue to organize rehabilitation stays for war veterans and their families. We also help in the organization of humanitarian aid.

In response to the extraordinary circumstances of this cruel war, within 24 hours SIEMACHA in Odporyszów organized a 24/7 facility for orphans from Kherson, situated 1,200 km away. The children travelled a full week to reach us. In March 2023, after a few months’ of the facility’s general reconstruction, new rooms were made available to Ukrainian families in need.

The main partner of the renovation project is EKIPA HOLDING SA, created at the initiative of the most popular influencers in Poland.

– In the protest against Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, we have combined our forces to bring help to those who need it. That is why we started the campaign. Thanks to the generosity and assistance of the campaign’s donors and partners, we were able to raise a huge amount. We have decided to provide real, long-term and effective help to the most vulnerable – children who were seeking refuge in Poland,” – stresses Łukasz Wojtyca, a YouTuber and influencer, co-founder of EKIPA HOLDING SA.

The war in Ukraine is a very important theme of our work. In 2022, we were visited by Eamon Gilmore, the European Union Special Representative for Human Rights. During a discussion panel, we discussed system-based modalities of assistance addressed to refugees, and to children in particular.

We would not be able to implement our activities for Ukraine on our own. Many campaigns have been possible thanks to the financial support of the United Nations Children’s Fund www.unicef.org; www.krakow.pl; ngo.krakow.pl