RICHARD A. SOKERKA
Since Russian forces launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine Feb. 24, daily news reports have shown the horrors of war as innocent men, women, and children are maimed and killed, illustrating Russia’s violent push to take strategic towns at a high cost for civilians.
The brave Ukrainian people have shown an amazing resolve to defend their homeland yet many civilians have fled and the number of refugees is in the millions.
So many organizations have come to the aid of the Ukrainian people during this unprovoked attack by Vladimir Putin that it is hard to single one out for its herculean efforts.
But rising above all other organizations is the work on the ground of the Knights of Columbus. Polish and Ukrainian Knights have been working together to provide aid to the millions of refugees. Szymon Czyszek, the Knights’ director of International Growth in Europe, said that the Knights want to tell refugees, “We will carry your burdens, and we want to overcome evil with good.”
Marshaling members on both sides of the border, the Knights have been able to provide relief both in Ukraine and in neighboring Poland, where more than 2.5 million Ukrainians have sought refuge.
The Knights of Columbus have started a solidarity fund for Ukraine, pledging to match all donations up to $500,000. So far, the fund has raised more than $4 million, and the fraternal organization was able to send a truck of supplies to Lviv, Ukraine’s western-most major city, within days of the invasion, which was then distributed by local Knights.
Polish Knights have established collection sites in Kraków, Radom, and Tomaszów Lubelski, where they are gathering and packaging medical supplies, warm clothing, and other necessities.
The goal is to provide both immediate and long-term help. At the Ukraine border, the Knights have created what they call “mercy huts” to serve as distribution points for food and water to refugees. The Knights are working closely with both the Catholic Church, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and with the Polish government. They have set up a database of parishioner homes and parish centers where refugees can seek shelter until Polish friends or family can meet them and bring them to a final destination. Among the shelter sites was the former residence of St. John Paul II in Kraków, which has opened its doors to refugees.
Czyszek said he draws inspiration from Solidarity that peacefully took Poland back from the communists in the 1980s, with the encouragement of St. John Paul II.
“This moment of solidarity has the power to change hearts and minds, has the power to stop the aggression on Ukraine’s people,” he said.
Blessed Father Michael McGivney, who founded the Knights of Columbus, had a vision of men primarily caring for widows and orphans, and had a special affinity for immigrants. That the Knights in Poland and Ukraine are doing so much now to care for women and children is confirmation that they are living out Father McGivney’s vision.
The Knights of Columbus Supreme Council’s Ukraine Solidarity Fund will allow the Knights to continue to assist their brother knights in Poland and Ukraine to provide clothing, shelter, food, and medical supplies to Ukrainian refugees.
To help the Knights, go to: https://www.kofc.org/secure/en/donate/ukraine.html