Missionary volunteers serve food to refugees in Poland. (Courtesy: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
The refugee crisis on the Ukraine border is complex and the humanitarian aid requirements are urgent and multi-faceted. When the crisis began in February, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints immediately established a framework for Church member refugee integration. The focus included the creation of gathering hubs to provide for immediate refugee needs, plus a process to connect displaced individuals and families with a timely connection to local Church congregations where they can find temporary housing, food, other supplies, and social and spiritual refuge.
According to a press release from the Church, since the onset of the crisis, Welfare and Self-Reliance Services (WSRS), a department of the Church, has been involved in hundreds of humanitarian outreach efforts throughout Europe. Together, with local Church leaders and members, the department is coordinating assistance for those of all faiths at border crossings, gathering hubs and local Church buildings.
Two former senior missionary volunteers to Slovakia have recently come to Poland for several months to help with refugee efforts, working as technical representatives. They are coordinating projects with other Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s).
In Hungary, the Church found an NGO that is renting an entire hotel for refugees. This 62-room hotel can house up to three hundred women and children for short-term stays. The Church will help cover the cost of rent at the hotel.
In Slovakia, the Church is working with Nadacia Pro Futura to provide baby food and hygiene items for distribution to mothers with babies or toddlers arriving at the border. To date, four hundred kits have been given out.
In the Czech Republic, two refugee centers have been created by the Church. One is at the European Community Outreach Centre at Cumorah Academy near Prague. This facility offers accommodation, meals, and education to almost fifty Ukrainian member refugees, eight of which are actively preparing to be Church missionaries. Another center has been established to accommodate up to one hundred member refugees, providing a first stop as they arrive for temporary refuge. Food and lodging are offered free of charge, and local Church members help refugees integrate into cities with established churches to provide social interaction as well as spiritual refuge.
Iceland is a small and distant country but has also been active in receiving and hosting refugee families including a member family who fled Odessa in Ukraine to come to Iceland. The Church in Iceland is also contributing financially to the efforts of established NGO’s helping displaced individuals from Ukraine. In total, over six hundred displaced individuals have arrived in Iceland from Ukraine, and each has been provided with lodging and employment.
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