PoMOCna Kawa – summaries

Meeting of Polish-Ukrainian organisations on psychological support

🔹The theme of the third meeting of Polish-Ukrainian organisations was psychological aid – challenges, principles and, above all, safety in Ukrainian conditions. We learned how to broadcast aid in extreme conditions, how to combine animal aid with psychological aid – and we talked about many other topics.

Fundraising. Collections and events

🔹We had another fundraising training, which was attended by 30 organisations. This time we talked about ways of raising money such as collections and events. The speakers were representatives of the Siepomaga Foundation, who talked about the principles of setting up online collections on the portal run by their organisation. The topic of preparing cultural events and acquiring regular donors and partners to support NGO projects was presented by the president of the Q Foundation. He inspired us with very interesting ideas and invited us to a festival run by his organisation – City NGO.

First meeting of Polish-Ukrainian organisations

🔹Changing the formula of PoMOCna Kawa is not all the news that awaits our series of meetings in the new year. The first meeting of Polish-Ukrainian humanitarian organisations is behind us. We had the opportunity to talk about our most difficult challenges and problems and in general about our projects – plans and needs. We hosted 41 organisations, and altogether – as many as 80 participants! Due to the huge demand for dialogue between organisations at international level, the next such meeting will take place on 31 January 2023.

Legal issues and regulations

🔹 The first PoMOCna Kawa meeting of the new year was visited by 50 organisations. Participants educated themselves on laws and regulations. The speakers were experts from the Ukrainian House in Warsaw, the Women’s Rights Centre and the Mudita Association. Each expert speech was followed by questions from the audience. Thank you for your extremely interesting and helpful lectures and professional advice! They aroused so much interest that we could not finish the meeting! The following topics were covered:

• The most common legal problems faced by refugees from Ukraine
• Diia.pl system
• cooperation with the police, the prosecutor’s office and the court in the case of the protection of refugee women experiencing violence
• disability provisions for refugees

Support for excluded groups

🔹 The last 2022 PoMOCna Kawa discussion was attended by 15 organisations that in their work on behalf of Ukrainian refugees meet people belonging to so-called excluded groups. Some of them work on behalf of statutorily excluded groups, while others meet their representatives when providing assistance to a wide range of Ukrainian arrivals. The foundations taking part in the meeting provide support to people with disabilities, the chronically ill, pensioners, pregnant and postpartum women, children left unattended or from dysfunctional families. The organisation’s staff and volunteers talked about the problems faced by their charges. Poor health, old age or difficult living situations, in addition to the trauma of war and refugee experiences, are an additional burden for these minorities. People from excluded groups also require specialist care: medical, psychological or legal.

Let’s get to know each other’ meeting – Part III

🔹Since our meeting was held on the last Tuesday of the month, it was dedicated to new organisations that wanted to join PoMOCna Kawa. Their members talked about the nature of their work and the challenges and problems they face in their work on behalf of Ukrainian refugees. Outlets from different sectors took part. Many ideas and information about current events were shared. One of the interesting topics that came up during the discussion was the promotion of activities on the internet. We talked about Facebook groups where we can inform a large audience about our projects, e.g. Map Help – organisations, NGOs, volunteers.

Intergration

🔹 Nineteen members of aid organisations took part in the PoMOCna Kawa meeting. As usual, we learned about interesting solutions used in their work. Facilities dedicated to the integration of refugees from Ukraine with Poles work in many areas, as adaptation in a new social environment is a multifaceted process. In order for people arriving in a country whose culture they do not know to start fully functioning in it, they need to learn a lot. That is why NGOs have created a full range of activities for refugees, such as Polish language courses, educational classes, further education courses, job-search assistance, integration meetings, creative workshops, adaptation and integration workshops, cultural events, childcare, sports activities, assistance for the sick and people with disabilities and much more. We encourage you to read in the summary, the chapter entitled ‘Positive examples and contacts’. It is a very inspiring section. As far as the needs of the organisations are concerned, their activities mainly require financial stability. Below are the answers to the question of what support the aid organisations expect:

• steady funding for long-term projects
• adequate number and size of premises for integration activities
• in-kind assistance – needed equipment, books and others
• help with promotion and information about the offer
• more volunteers
• more specialists and experts conducting classes

Psychological help

🔹This time, 17 organizations participated in the PoMOCna Kawa meeting. Problems that require psychological support are difficult to solve and require looking at them with real empathy. This was the spirit of our conversation with activists and psychologists supporting refugees from Ukraine. Thanks to their statements, we gained a broader picture and an idea of what daily life is like for those remaining in crisis. We also shared tips and knowledge on how to properly respond to refugee problems. You will find a link to the page on psychological support in the report we attached. You will also learn from it what kind of challenges organizations and facilities dealing with such psychological support are facing.

Vocational activation

🔹The sixth meeting of PoMOCna Kawa was attended by 22 organizations. The main topic was vocational activation. This is an extremely important issue that extends to the work of many sectors of NGOs. The activists present at the meeting, shared many interesting ways they use to help Ukrainian women integrate into society and enter the labor market. At one point, the issue of language education came to the fore. Knowledge of the Polish language is indeed an important element for finding a job in line with one’s competencies. The sociological survey report “Refugees from Ukraine – Professional Activation in Poland and Germany” shows that as many as 46% of refugee women residing in Poland have a university degree. If they do not speak Polish or English, they are forced to perform work below their qualifications. During the meeting, the participants answered questions from the survey, as usual. Thanks to this we learned what are the priority needs and demands of the organization:

• More specialists (especially Polish language teachers and psychologists who know Ukrainian)
• A larger number of volunteers
• Permanent financial support to enable planning aid activities for the long term
• Assistance in organizing courses and trainings
• Free premises for conducting classes
• Direct access to employers
• Access to information on job opportunities
• A variety of job offers (full-time but also for a few hours a day)

Let’s get to know each other’ meeting – Part II

🔹 At the fifth PoMOCna Kawa meeting, 13 members of the organisation showed up to talk about their work and meet other teams. Almost every foundation represented a different type of activity. Each of them, over the past months, had been carefully adapting their aid programmes in response to the changing situation of refugees. Participants in the discussion exchanged advice and contacts. Deloitte staff also attended the event to find out what challenges foundations are facing. They are preparing an online tool to help NGOs in their search for donors. Sources of funding, is a growing problem for associations and volunteers supporting Ukrainian citizens. Below are the difficulties we discussed:

• financial shortages
• lack of food
• lack of warm clothes
• lack of volunteers
• lack of premises for integration and psychological support
• difficulty in reaching those in need of psychological suport

Housing

🔹 The fourth PoMOCna Kawa meeting on housing assistance was attended by 17 organisations. We shared different ways of obtaining and managing housing. It was clear from the participants in the conversation that when it comes to organising permanent housing for refugees, work activation is extremely important. Many organisations gave examples of very positive solutions in this regard. Below is a report outlining the leading themes of our debate, which were:

• sources of funding;
• different types of residence sites;
• main problems in the management of residency places;
• assistance in vocational activation;
• preparations for winter.

Exchange of information and mutual promotion

🔹We present to you our first report from the second meeting of PoMOCna Kawa. The meeting was attended by members of 18 organizations involved in relief efforts for Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees. From the report you will learn, among other things:

•     what are the ways to obtain and distribute needed food;
•     what are the main problems and challenges in this area of activities;
•     what is needed more – funding or donations;
•     what practical ideas are worth using in your activities