Donations collected by the Focolare Movement Emergency Fund  through the NGOsAzione per un Mondo Unito (AMU) and Azione per Famiglie Nuove (AFN) will go towards aid provided by Caritas-Spes Ukraine.

The actions of war in Ukraine show no sign of stopping, and among the population there are thousands of displaced people fleeing. Many are trying to survive between homes and emergency shelters, where they can receive initial support.

With contributions collected through the appeal launched by Focolare Movement Emergency Coordination, AMU and AFN are firstly supporting the actions of Caritas-Spes Ukraine. The organisation is providing aid to thousands of people forced to abandon their homes and flee to the border, or to take refuge in underground shelters set up in the immediate area where possible.

Caritas-Spes Ukraine is committed to offer safe shelter, food, medicine, hygiene products and psychological support for close to 500 displaced mothers with children housed in their centres. More than 2,500 people are also receiving aid through Caritas in the parishes and 14 soup kitchens that remain active in the areas of Kiev, Lutsk, Berdiansk, Kamenets-Podolsky, Zhytomyr, Kharkiv, Lviv, Odessa, Vinnitsa and several cities of the Transcarpathia Region.

The images of the war in Ukraine every day in international media, and the testimonies of our contacts on the ground, such as Mira Milavec, a Slovenian focolarina who lives in Ukraine and collaborates with Caritas-Spes, describe the state of emergency of a population under siege. The people are defenceless in the face of the bombing, and they crowd routes to reach the borders, or take refuge in basements or shelters, where makeshift beds have been set up as they wait for a hot meal, drinking water and electricity.

At the border with Poland, the line of desperate people who hope to cross the border is tens of kilometres long. Caritas-Spes in Lviv has organized special aid for mothers who try to escape with children, even very small ones, in their arms. They need everything, especially hot water to prepare meals or change diapers.

In Odessa, which is under attack, shelters are being set up, even under the cathedral. The activity is punctuated by the sound of sirens announcing danger arriving or its temporary cease.

In Vinnitsa a psychologist is organizing online training sessions for volunteers and operators about providing psychological help in stressful situations such as this. The first has already been attended by more than 120 people.

Currently, the fundraising has already reached 100,000 euros, and the first shipment of funds has already been sent. It is being used to support the actions of Caritas-Spes for early aid to Ukrainian families.

We are also evaluating the possibility of supporting the costs to take in the many Ukrainian refugees who are arriving in the surrounding countries, such as Slovakia and Poland. They are being welcomed by the generosity of local families who are opening their homes to them.

Unfortunately, military activities show no signs of ceasing, and as confirmed by local contacts, needs will only increase.

Frequent updates about the aid activity being carried out on the ground are available via the online and social channels of AMU and AFN.

To support Ukraine and aid families devastated by the war, donate online on these sites:

AMU: amu-it.eu/dona-online-3/
AFN: afnonlus.org/dona/

Donatella Rafanelli told Maria Chiara Biagioni of the Italian news agency “SIR” about the life of the Focolare community in Ukraine in recent days. A 29-hour trip from Kiev. “Now our dream is to go back there”.

A 29-hour drive out of Kyiv to reach Mukachevo, a town in the west of Ukraine. Heavy traffic on the roads, long queues at cash machines and petrol stations, tanks and people along the way asking for a lift. Donatella Rafanelli is a focolarina, from Pistoia in Italy, who has lived in a Focolare community in Kyiv since 2019. She spoke to “SIR” about that journey along the ‘route’ of internally displaced persons.

Donatella told us, “We were in Kyiv when we received a phone call on Thursday morning advising us to pack quickly because there was shooting 70 kilometres from the capital. We didn’t know what to do because for all of us it was the first time that we were in that kind of situation. We went to look for the closest shelter to our house and were directed to an underground carpark. We went home and rang the Italian embassy on an emergency number. They told us to stay home and go to the shelter only if there was an alarm. Everything seemed normal.

People had been talking about the possibility of an attack on Kyiv for days, but when it happened, the first thing we did was look each other in the eyes. We said, here we go, we’re at war. And we prayed. We asked Jesus to give us strength and to give us peace. From then on, it was all a race against time. We put a few things together in a small bag. We took very little, the bare essentials and personal documents. We tried to get train tickets so we could go to the west, but they were sold out. The airport was closed. So we decided to take the car. The roads out of Kyiv were blocked. There were very long queues at the bank to get money and at the supermarkets. It took a long time just to get out of the city. We stopped twice for petrol. At the first petrol station we queued for an hour. And while we were there, waiting, we heard the shots. It was an emotional moment. We stood still, in silence. When we set off again, you could see tanks and people hitchhiking for a lift. Our phones were constantly receiving and sending messages and calls: from those who had left, from who had decided to stay. We were sharing news and putting the people who were trying to leave in contact with the Focolare communities in Slovakia and Poland, who had offered a welcome. Only as we were travelling, did we realize what had happened to us. We weren’t in the car to go to an appointment or a trip. We were leaving a city, our home. We would never have wanted to leave. But we realized it was impossible to stay.”

In Mukachevo, Donatella and her companions were welcomed by a Parish Priest and by the community of the Focolare there. “We are still in Ukraine; this is very important to us. We didn’t run away. We want to continue living in this country. We’ve been offered lots of places to go. The fact that we left Kyiv is just because it’s dangerous right now. There was no point in staying under the bombing. But now our dream is to go back there.”

She continued, “War? It’s madness, no one has the right to take someone else’s life or rob them of the chance to live a normal life. People here have made a lot of sacrifices to buy a house, save money. And now with the war, their plans for the future are jeopardized, their dreams are shattered. We are praying that this madness will end as soon as possible. We are following the news of the talks between the delegations and of the efforts being made at the level of international diplomacy. I think the only thing that can help us is a miracle. It really helps us to hear all the news from people who pray for us and who demonstrate in the streets for peace. We need a miracle.”

Maria Chiara Biagioni

We hear from the Focolare communities, present in various cities of Ukraine. They invite us to join them in their worldwide prayer for peace every Thursday at 7.30 pm (Italian time).

“In this terrible moment, we are sustained by the faith and love that we are receiving from all over the world through messages, telephone calls and prayers. We would like to thank each and every one. They give us strength and increase the hope that God will give us the gift, the miracle of peace”. With these words Donatella Rafanelli, an Italian focolarina and a teacher, who lives in the Kyiv focolare, shared how the Focolare communities in Ukraine are living this frightening time.

She continued, “In recent weeks, with the growing tension we felt we were living a truly special moment in our life, even if everyday life flowed as usual. By talking to the people around us, we realized how much fear, worry, sadness and disappointment there has been for months and which now, with the worsening of the situation in the last few hours, is even more accentuated”.

She explained, “We too, as a community of the Movement, are certainly not immune from all this. We have wondered and continue to ask ourselves what to do in this situation. We are living this painful moment with everyone. We are aware that we cannot do extraordinary or special things, but we can listen to those around us sharing fears and concerns and try to understand, moment by moment, what is best to do “.

Yesterday, Pope Francis invited everyone, believers and non-believers, to join in a choral plea for peace by praying and fasting, especially on 2^nd March, the beginning of Lent. Together with him, other leaders of various Christian Churches are inviting people to pray to implore the gift of peace.

In the Focolare Movement around the world, the time-out for peace continues every day (at 12:00 in each time zone). It is a moment of silence and prayer for peace in every corner of the globe.

Donatella told us, “Here in Ukraine, every Thursday for a year now, at 7:30 pm (Italian time) we have a moment of prayer for peace, in Italian and Ukrainian, at this link We invite everyone to join us for this moment, which recently, has attracted many people from various countries of the world who have peace at heart”.

The focolare in Ukraine opened in Kyiv in May 2019. Some Focolare communities were already present in the country. People in Ukraine had heard of the charism of unity thanks to many members of the Movement from neighbouring nations who, through visits and various contacts, had introduced this spirituality to several cities. Today the members of the Focolare, of different ages and vocations, are present in Mukachevo, Uzhgorod, Storozhniza, Lviv, Kyiv and surroundings.

Anna Lisa Innocenti

From Bratislava, Brussels, Rome, Vienna, 24.02.2022

Dearest everyone,

Faced with the current crisis in the Ukraine, we would like to invite you to pray together for peace, thus sending a strong message of unity and solidarity from all of us in Europe.

Let us rekindle with renewed enthusiasm the Time-out for Peace at 12:00 noon locally, praying that all conflict and human suffering may cease.

Here below are some initiatives that we can join to show our solidarity.
Every Thursday, at 7.30 pm (Rome time), we are invited to join in the prayer with and for the Ukraine via Zoom prepared by the focolarini of Kyiv.

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82796803322?pwd=bWNEcGdkQUhmcXRPV0gybWtEOHppUT09

The Together for Europe action invites you to meet with our Ukrainian friends in order to share in their experience and to pray together for peace: Wednesday, 2 March 2022, 7.00-8.30 pm (CET) on Zoom (German language only). You can request the link by writing to mfe2021@web.de

In Italy, a social network campaign has been launched: #noisiamolapace
Watch video: https://youtu.be/_jDUc7nWwRk

In unity with all of you,
Redi and Dolores (Bratislava), Catherine and Andreas (Brussels), Cristiana and Gabriele (Italy), Maria and Roberto (Vienna)