Ukraine: Swansea church knitting for refugees in Poland

A church group from Wales has delivered dozens of hand-knitted items for Ukrainian refugees who have fled to Poland.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church, in Morriston, Swansea, has ties with a convent in Krakow which has housed refugees, including 30 children.

Members had been raising funds, but felt they could do more and started to knit clothes for mothers and babies.

Father Jason, the church's priest, has now delivered some items to Poland.

Suzanne Romano, a member of the knitting group, said it was set up in response to the war after the United Nations Population Fund estimated there were 265,000 pregnant women in Ukraine at the time of Russia's invasion.

She said: "By knitting, we aim to provide blankets and clothes for the babies to give the mums peace of mind."

Elaine Rees, a fellow member of the knitting group, said the response she had seen for her appeal for help had been "overwhelming".

Father Jason, who took the bundles of clothes to Krakow, said: "We, as a church, have a long connection with the Sisters of our Lady of Mercy in Krakow, and Morriston has a long history with Ukraine.

"Many Ukrainians came here to live and work after the Second World War.

"We even had an Ukrainian club here."

After making the donation, he said: "There is a sense of achievement that the parish of Morriston has helped in a little way and shown our concerns for the refugees."

But he added there was "more to be done".

A building close to the convent in Krakow has been converted into a refuge for 60 people by the Catholic charity Caritas.

Refuge manager Dominik Klos said: "Most of them don't have anything.

"They fled with just small bags and a few things that they had time to pack.

"Mostly, the refugees are a little ashamed and don't want to ask for anything.

"They are grateful but they have a lot of needs.

"Every help is very important."

One of those refugees is Ohla, who fled to Poland from Kyiv with her mother and two children.

"We didn't bring much because we had only one bag between us all," she said.

"We only brought medicine and some clothes. In Caritas, they gave us clothes and food... because we brought nothing with us.

"We hope to go back, back to our home, when everything is finished."

More than 150,000 displaced Ukrainians have fled to Krakow, which has seen its population grow by about 20% since the start of the war.

Szymon Czyszek, director of International Growth in Europe, with the Catholic charity Knights of Columbus, said integration and psychological help were crucial issues.

He said: "One of the things we need to work on is the teaching of the Polish language, but we also offer psychological aid.

"This is really important because we want to reach out to people and see not only from the perspective of material needs but also psychological needs.

"We also want to try to make sure they can get jobs here so that they can be integrated and become more independent."