Meet the young Scouts supporting refugees from Ukraine

Wearing their Scouts uniform, young people in Poland have been supporting refugees from Ukraine since the very first day of the war. For some, this experience changed them forever.

UNICEF
Matylda, 22, adjusts her neckerchief outside the Krakow Główny railway station, where she has been volunteering to support refugees from Ukraine since war erupted in the country.
UNICEF/UN0644116/Le Lijour
31 May 2022

Choosing to stay

Matylda, 22, calmly oversees some of her peers as they move food items at the Krakow Główny railway station, in Poland. Her attentive eyes gaze at every movement made by Scouts* and refugees alike, making sure that not a single request made by refugees remains unattended.

“When the war started, I was terrified,” she says. “History taught us that when there is war in Europe, Poland is never really safe. My mom wanted me to go to France and stay there until things cooled down, but once I saw how many refugees were arriving in Poland I decided to stay. I could not run away or stand by while our brothers and sisters from Ukraine were suffering.”

Matylda volunteers at the Krakow Główny railway station. She comes from a family of Scouts committed to make the world a better place.
UNICEF/UN0644098/Le Lijour
Matylda volunteers at the Krakow Główny railway station. She comes from a family of Scouts committed to make the world a better place.

Matylda has been a Scout for as long as she can remember. The neckerchief runs in the family: her parents were Scouts before her. Their stories, together with a profound desire to make the world a better place, motivated her to join the organisation. Matylda volunteered for many events and was among Krakow’s first responders to the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Little did she know that the experience was preparing her for a bigger threat – the war in Ukraine.

Help for onward journeys

Matylda started to volunteer at the station on 26 February, two days after the war started. There, she and her peers support the refugees that transit through the station, ensuring that they have what they need before boarding the train that will bring them to their next destination.

At the UNICEF-supported Scouts point, the young volunteers provide refugees with food, water, and some basic hygiene supplies. They share information about trains, platforms, and other services provided at the station, including at the Blue Dot managed by UNICEF, UNHCR, and the municipality of Krakow, which is located only a few metres away from the Scouts point.  Other refugees who now live in Krakow and are unable to find work continue to rely on UNICEF and the Scouts’ support to get by.

A young volunteer supports refugees from Ukraine at the UNICEF-supported Scouts space.
UNICEF/UN0644114/Le Lijour
A young volunteer supports refugees from Ukraine at the UNICEF-supported Scouts space.
Young volunteers prepare sandwiches for refugees from Ukraine at the UNICEF-supported Scouts space. Apart from food, water and hygiene supplies, they also provide important information to refugees.
UNICEF/UN0644104/Le Lijour
Young volunteers prepare sandwiches for refugees from Ukraine at the UNICEF-supported Scouts space. Apart from food, water and hygiene supplies, they also provide important information to refugees.

A heart-warming solidarity

“The level of suffering, distress, and grief shown by refugees was one of the hardest things I ever saw,” continues Matylda. She reflected on how small things, such as a bottle of water or a sandwich, could make a huge difference. She is also amazed at the solidarity shown by the people of Poland and other countries.

“It makes me very proud. This is a society I am very happy to be part of,” says Matylda. “Working on this humanitarian response changed me, now I feel prouder of myself and the place I am from. Volunteers like us will need support because as long as there is war, people will flee.”

Matylda’s experience of helping refugees has changed her for the better. She is amazed at the solidarity shown by the people of Poland and other countries.
UNICEF/UN0644101/Le Lijour
Matylda’s experience of helping refugees has changed her for the better. She is amazed at the solidarity shown by the people of Poland and other countries.

Being there for others

About 230 kilometres from Krakow, and only a few kilometres away from the Ukrainian border, in Przemyśl, another group of Scout volunteers is busy responding to the humanitarian emergency. Among them there are Izabela and Kuba, both 16 years old.

“At the beginning, I was volunteering at the railway station here in Przemyśl,” says Izabela. “On my first day, I was completely overwhelmed.” She remembers passengers coming out of the 5th train, four days after the war started.  “When its doors opened, scores of refugees filled the platform. I felt shocked and powerless, as I knew that more trains would come.”

Izabela, 16, talks while standing in front of a train at the Przemyśl Główny railway station. She has been volunteering to support refugees from Ukraine since the early days of the war.
UNICEF/UN0644110/Le Lijour
Izabela, 16, talks while standing in front of a train at the Przemyśl Główny railway station. She has been volunteering to support refugees from Ukraine since the early days of the war.

“Thanks to my peers, I quickly learned what I could do for them. As I got better so did the way we organized ourselves and managed the situation.” She says she never lost hope in what they were doing, despite the immense difficulties they faced. Izabela feels that her relational and communication skills got a boost. “I even improved my English,” she says, laughing.

Izabela's experience of volunteering has not only helped lift other people, it boosted her interpersonal and communication skills as well.
UNICEF/UN0644111/Le Lijour
Izabela's experience of volunteering has not only helped lift other people, it boosted her interpersonal and communication skills as well.

“This experience empowered me. It gave me the strength to know that whatever happens, I can be there for others.”

Izabela, 16-year-old Scout from Przemyśl, Poland

Just like you and me

Kuba – another young scout volunteer – was also changed by the work he did with refugees. “I remember my first day here. I was astonished by the amount of people and felt terrible for them. I did not know how to get my head around helping so many.”

Kuba was assigned to volunteer at an information point to help refugees understand the services available to them, as well as how to access transportation to other areas of Poland or abroad.

Kuba, 16, was initially overwhelmed by the many people needing help in Przemyśl, but he got to work and focused on what he could do.
UNICEF/UN0644106/Le Lijour
Kuba, 16, was initially overwhelmed by the many people needing help in Przemyśl, but he got to work and focused on what he could do.

“Once I started to talk to the refugees, I soon understood that they were just like me. They just needed some help because they did not know where to eat, drink, sleep, or get a bus to go somewhere. I could help with that.”

“Volunteering to help refugees has changed me forever, and it changed me for the better. Now, whatever happens, I know I can help others if they need me.”

Kuba, 16-year-old Scout from Przemyśl, Poland.
Kuba says he will never be the same after his experience of helping refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.
UNICEF/UN0644108/Le Lijour
Kuba says he will never be the same after his experience of helping refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.

“Sometimes, you feel like a situation is too big for you, and that whatever you do, not much will change,” says Kuba. “The Scouts gave me an opportunity to get involved. When it comes to helping others, you need to stop hesitating. Just go ask what the best ways to help are and do it. First you do, then you think,” he concludes.

 

*Between 1 April and 15 May, under the partnership between UNICEF and the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), 2,070 volunteers from WOSM have provided critical and life-saving information, as well as emergency food, water, and hygiene supplies to over 443,930 Ukrainian refugees in six host countries, thus galvanizing the power of youth engagement to address the needs of refugees fleeing the war. (UNICEF Humanitarian Situation Report 11, Refugee Response in Neighbouring Countries)

About the World Organization of the Scout Movement

Scouting is the world’s leading educational youth movement, engaging millions of young people to be active citizens and create positive change in their communities. The Scout Movement is made up of more than 57 million Scouts, including 2 million who are active in the European Scout Region. The role of the Region is to support its 40 Member Organizations across Europe empowering the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual potential as individuals and responsible citizens.

Find out more at: scout.org/europe

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