The Jesuit Response in Ukraine: One year later.

One year after the beginning of the war in Ukraine, we have the opportunity to review the coordinated action of the Society of Jesus in the conflict, through The One Proposal program. In this year we have carried out 82,111 assistance activities in areas such as emergency aid, shelter, psychological support, education or integration.

Since the beginning of the armed conflict in Ukraine, the coordinated response of Xavier Network together with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) and other works of the Society of Jesus in Europe, made it possible to accompany 56,042 people fleeing the violence through 82,111 short- and medium-term assistance activities. These actions were deployed in different geographical locations and ranged from emergency aid, shelter and psychological support to education and integration.

“From the beginning, we responded in Ukraine, but also Poland, Romania, Hungary, Moldova and Slovakia”, said Alberto Ares Mateos SJ, Regional Director of JRS Europe. He mentioned this at the publication on Thursday of the annual report, The One Proposal, a coordinated response programme of the Society of Jesus to the Ukrainian crisis. The plan provides a wide range of services over three years to 73,168 Ukrainian people forced to leave their homes, becoming internally displaced persons or refugees.

Martyna, in the middle of her maternity leave a month after the war started, was forced to flee Ukraine to cross into Romania with her mother and sister to protect her child. “This experience is a big emotional shock for the adults, especially for the children”, she confesses, and “wholeheartedly” thanks JRS Romania for its care and support when she arrived in Bucharest.

Reception is the first strategic objective of The OneProposal. During its first year of implementation, it targeted 60% of its services to meet this objective, offering shelter and short-term emergency assistance to people like Marthyna. Protection is the second strategic objective, which brings together medium-term aid in areas such as psychological support, health, education and shelter, activities that accounted for 30% of the programme. The remaining 10% was divided between the ‘Integrate’ and ‘Promote’ objectives, which aim to provide long-term support through employment, awareness-raising and integration activities. 

One example is the ‘friendly classrooms’ initiative, which aims to ensure that Ukrainian refugee children in neighbouring countries continue to have access to education. “It is essential that refugee children have a safe space to resume their studies and contact other children. In short, it is vital to bring some normalcy to their lives immediately,” says Pablo Funes, Coordinator of the International Cooperation Area of Entreculturas.

The four strategic objectives guiding the intervention were based on an exhaustive assessment of the needs of Ukrainians forcibly displaced throughout Europe. This way, a comprehensive response was established, ranging from the immediate humanitarian response and emergency assistance in Ukraine and neighbouring countries to long-term programmes promoting and integrating refugees.