100,000 euros for Ukraine aid from Caritas Osnabrück
Osnabrück, March 17, 2022
More and more refugees from Ukraine come to Osnabrück and seek help from Caritas. Ukrainians already living in Osnabrück also ask for support for friends and relatives who are fleeing. The Friedel & Gisela Bohnenkamp Foundation is now supporting the work of the Caritas Association for the City and County of Osnabrück with a generous donation of 100,000 euros.
"We want to help the many innocent people who are fleeing to us from the war zones in Ukraine without delay. Don't talk long, act - that's exactly what we wanted to do as a foundation," explains Michael Prior, spokesman for the board of the Friedel & Gisela Bohnenkamp Foundation. He adds: "We have a long-standing cooperation with Caritas. The employees know what needs to be done and how the arrivals can be helped in concrete terms. That's why we want to effectively strengthen Caritas' existing assistance services."
In order to meet the great demand for support, the Caritas association reacted quickly and set up a fixed consultation hour from Monday to Thursday between 9:00 and 11:00. "With the money from the Bohnenkamp Foundation, we would like to create additional counseling capacity. Above all, we need employees who can advise in Ukrainian or Russian," explains Monika Schnellhammer, managing director at the Caritas Association for the City and County of Osnabrück.
No one knows how long the war in Ukraine will last. However, the Caritas Association is preparing for the fact that support will be needed in the long term. "We want to create opportunities for exchange for refugees. It is important to be able to talk to each other about what you have experienced. We also want to arrange sponsorships with volunteers from Germany," says Maren Wilmes, head of the Migration Department.
In addition, there should be prompt psychosocial support for the families and especially for the children. "Many children are traumatized because of the unexpected start of the war and the sometimes dramatic flight. They in particular need to receive help at an early stage," says Wilmes. To this end, the Caritas Association will further expand the existing cooperation with the Network for Traumatized Refugees in Lower Saxony (NTFN).
Caritas is asking for further donations in order to be able to provide unbureaucratic emergency aid. "We subsidize necessary purchases, such as the purchase of mattresses for privately housed people or a tank of gas for the onward journey."
Donation account
Caritas Association for the Diocese of Osnabrück e.V.
Purpose of donation: "Emergency aid/Ukraine
IBAN: DE65 4006 0265 0500 5003 00
Swift-BIC: GENODEM1DKM
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