– For the first time in many years, young people from Lower Silesia, including residents of Bolesławiec and the surrounding area, did not travel to Ukraine to tidy the graves of our ancestors – says Barbara Smoleńska, head of the Towarzystwo Miłośników Lwowa i Kresów Południowo-Wschodnich in Bolesławiec. – But we did more than just tidy cemeteries. We also transported aid in the form of food, clothing and cleaning products for Poles who remained in the land of their ancestors. We also helped Ukrainians who worked with us in the cemeteries.
At the end of May, Wiktoria Laskowska-Szczur, president of the Zhytomyr Branch of the Union of Poles in Ukraine, sent a letter to the volunteers of the “Save the Grave of Your Great-Grandfather from Oblivion” campaign and to all compatriots. She asked for help, writing:
We, Poles from the Zhytomyr region, especially need help now. The ongoing pandemic has painfully affected elderly and lonely people who do not leave their homes. We try to visit them and bring them something to eat. Only recently, we passed on the last batch of food that you, dear volunteers, collected for the Christmas holidays.
The letter ends with the words:
On behalf of those who have never forgotten their roots, I appeal to you, my compatriots. Perhaps this time too we will manage to help the weakest. We await a response from your hearts.
– In Bolesławiec, as usual, the hearts of many people opened – emphasizes B. Smoleńska. – Within a few days, we collected food and cleaning products worth approximately PLN 1,600.
The residents of Bolesławiec handed the prepared donations to editor Grażyna Orłowska-Sondej, president of the Studio Wschód Foundation and chief coordinator of the “Save the Grave of Your Great-Grandfather from Oblivion” campaign.
The Studio Wschód Foundation organized humanitarian aid for Poles in Ukraine. The collection of donations in many towns in Lower Silesia proceeded smoothly. The greatest problem was arranging entry into Ukraine. But it was successful. Food collected, among others, by residents of Bolesławiec reached Polish families in that country. The packages arrived in the partner city of Zbarazh and nearby Stryjówka on June 27.
Barbara Smoleńska:
I thank all the donors for their great Polish spirit, especially the members of the Towarzystwo Miłośników Lwowa i Kresów Południowo-Wschodnich and the students of Primary School No. 5.