About 300 additional people from Ukraine arrived at the Gabcikovo accommodation centre. Each family brings with them their life story and sad memories. Salesian volunteers meet and listen to their stories and try to make their stay here easier by spending afternoons with the children, to whom they devote themselves to the fullest.
A young family with a daughter of about 5 years old told how they woke up to a bomb hitting the next door or shooting about 100 metres from them. They couldn’t even go out for shopping but they needed water. They all crowded into the cellars and slept only there. Some kids don’t even want to come out of the cellars any more. Parents are worried about the permanent psychological consequences…
Mirko is a little Ukrainian boy who is always among the first to greet the volunteers. He knows when they are coming: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. He has been telling his mom about it since morning that day, he looks forward to them so much.
Among the children and young people, there was also a 14-year-old Ukrainian boy who already speaks Slovak quite well. He comes from Transcarpathian Ukraine, which is linguistically close to our Slovak. After escaping with his mother he spent a few weeks in Rožňava, where he went to a Slovak school and therefore he speaks Slovak. His mother wants to come back as soon as possible because they have a garden and they need to grow something to eat. But they don’t know when they will leave Slovakia, everything is uncertain. Because even where there is no fighting, sometimes Russian missiles fall. On the one hand, they want to go back, on the other hand they are afraid to go back. And they have been living in such uncertainty for many days.”
There are many such stories. Volunteers do what they can- they listen to them and offer free time just for children and young people.
Thank you to everyone who supports Salesian Family outreach, whether prayerfully or financially.
