Summary
Assistance to refugees is moving from the emergency phase to adaptation and integration.
The main goal is to help the 1,000 Ukrainian refugees gradually adapt and be integrated into Polish society. At the end of the project specific intended outcomes are envisioned, that refugees are settled in a regular flat, engaged in part-time or full-time jobs or self-entrepreneurship and the children (2-6 y/o) received kindergarten and elementary education for 7 years and above.

Since March 2022, CADIS, with the collaboration of the Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation (BTCCF), and the Camillians in Poland, has mobilized emergency response in Poland when the Russo-Ukrainian crisis erupted on February 24, 2022.


Context
Between 1.5 million and 2 million Ukrainians fleeing Russia's invasion are estimated to be staying in Poland, including some 1.2 million who have registered for protection. Around 90 percent of Ukrainian refugees are women and children. In the first days after the outbreak of the war, refugee assistance in Poland was provided mainly by Polish families and households, owners of guesthouses and hotels and religious communities who made them available to provide accommodation.

In Lomianki, the Camillians have converted the seminary house into a temporary shelter for refugees. The building can accommodate up to 70 refugees. At present, a total of 39 refugees are accommodated in the house.

In Ursus, the Camillians have incorporated their program, the care and shelter for the Ukrainian refugees, into their social assistance program for the homeless - St. Lazarus' Pension House for the Homeless where 20 refugees are currently accommodated.
Since the opening of the two temporary shelters in Ursus and Lomianki, there were about 238 refugees assisted in our temporary shelters. Currently, 59 refugees remain in our shelters - 20 in Ursus and 39 in Lomianki.


Many of the refugees in the centers plan to move onward and look for better opportunities in Poland or elsewhere in Europe. A significant number of them have specific skills, professional backgrounds, and interests; a few of them were given part-time jobs in our center. However, most of them will meet big challenges in finding jobs and settlements as we are now moving from the emergency response to the adaptation and integration phase.

Description of the Project Goal and Main Activities
The main goal of this project is to help the Ukrainian refugees gradually adapt and be integrated into Polish society. The principal donor of this phase is the Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation.

Intended Outcomes (Objectives)
The project has three specific intended outcomes. At the end of the project, the Ukrainian refugees under the care of the Camillians are:
a) settled in a regular flat or apartment
b) engaged in part-time or full-time jobs or self-entrepreneurship
c) children (2-6 y/o) received kindergarten and elementary education for 7 years and above.

Expected Outputs (Results)
The expected outputs of this project, on the other hand, are the following:
a) refugees have access to a fairly decent flat or apartment
b) refugees received psychosocial, mental, and medical health support
c) refugees received the minimum support for food and non-food items
d) refugees learned the Polish language and culture
e) refugees received job orientation seminars, workshops and legal assistance
f) refugees skills valued and utilized for self-employed alternative livelihoods
g) refugees integrated into the welfare system of Poland for social protection
h) children refugees enrolled in kindergarten and elementary schools
i) children refugees received physical, medical, and mental health support

Inputs (Detailed Activities)
(1) Provide a long-term temporary shelter for a maximum period of one year to 100 refugees
(women and children or families) in Łomianki and Ursus.
The provision consists of the building facility and services such as:
a) Two temporary shelters and six flats/apartments
b) Food and non-food supplies for three months
c) Utilities such as electricity, gas, heating system, computer, and internet
d) Practical and social assistance
e) Security and support personnel such as residence coordinator, social worker, psychosocial support facilitator, dietary and general maintenance services.

(2) Facilitate access of refugees to the labor market to obtain part-time or full-time jobs and the
coworking space for skilled refugees interested in self-employed or alternative livelihood activities.
To gain access to the labor market for economic sustainability and build their future in a foreign land, the project offers the following services:
a) Job placement orientation seminars and job application facilitation/ assistance
b) Intensive Polish language lessons and help for socio-cultural adaptation for 96 hours (4 hrs./week for 3 months.)
c) A building facility for the coworking scheme program renovated and refurbished for skilled refugees and vocational livelihood activities
d) Coworking space for skilled refugees for micro-enterprise support assistance and activities such as hairdressing, cosmetology, catering, tailoring, etc.).
e) Training and assistance on micro-enterprise management f) Assistance and support services (technical, practical, legal) for new arrivals and other refugees living outside the shelters of Lomianki and Ursus (target: 1000 refugees)
g) Basic medical and mental health support services for adults and children.

(3) Children refugees received kindergarten (2-6 y/o) and elementary (7 and above) educations
in Lomianki and Ursus for 50 students.
In Lomianki, the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, a Catholic religious congregation of nuns, has been operating a kindergarten school in Łomianki since 1945. When the refugees entered Poland, the school launched a special program for Ukrainian children - war refugees. The children were provided full day care (8 hours) educational classes, and food. The Sisters express their continuous desire to collaborate with us.
In Ursus, children will be sent to public or private schools with financial assistance from the project for the full-year program. Otherwise, if necessary depending on the available space, they can be sent to Lomianki. Working mothers can then proceed to work and do their daily chores and duties without worrying too much about their children.


With the following programs as described above, the urgent needs of Ukrainian refugees for education, housing and livelihood will be satisfied. In this way, Ukrainian refugees in Poland will gain autonomy and stability.