Patriarchal Pilgrimage Center evacuates people from “the hottest spots” of the Donetsk region
February 17, 2023
The UGCC Pilgrimage Center continues to evacuate the neediest from the regions affected by the hostilities. This evacuation involves transporting people by comfortable transport to safer areas and providing first aid, meeting basic physiological needs, and accommodation in temporary dwellings and shelters.
This time, on February 17, 2023, older people with visual and hearing impairments, cerebral palsy, and other diseases were evacuated.
“Each evacuation conducted by Caritas Kolomyia and the Patriarchal Pilgrimage Center of the UGCC is a ray of hope for those who remain in the frontline area. However, this evacuation was special. Its beneficiaries have visual and hearing impairments, cerebral palsy, and other diseases, but they keep the light inside them despite everything. The whole Caritas Kolomyia team noticed it when they heard the voices of two dogs from the evacuation bus,” said the representatives of Caritas Kolomyia.
The geography of the evacuation is no less remarkable. Among the travelers are Kharkiv, Avdiivka, Bakhmut, Sukha Balka, New York, and Chasovyi Yar residents.
“It’s hard to comprehend stories about evacuations from the Donetsk region. There are several reasons for this: firstly, there has been shooting here since 2014 — people are used to living under fire. We are terrified, but they are not. Secondly, only the elderly and disabled are left here because most young people had left long ago. Thirdly, these people leave when they have nowhere to live or return. The shell-shocked, wounded, blind, abandoned,” says Albina Brylliantova, deputy director of the UGCC Patriarchal Pilgrimage Center.
Natalia Starikova assisted during the evacuation. In addition, Donetsk Caritas provided people with a hot lunch and necessities, as most internally displaced persons left the hospital without subsistence. Meanwhile, Caritas Kolomyia welcomed everyone to live in the villages of Kuty and Yaremche in the Carpathian region.