The President of the Charitable Organization "CNEWA" visited Ukraine and assured further support
The purpose of Monsignor Peter Vaccari's visit was to express support for the brave Ukrainian people, familiarize himself with the charitable activities of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, including projects and initiatives supported by his organization, and assure further support and assistance, as reported by the Information Department of the UGCC.
"We came here to present CNEWA as an agency of hope. We strive to bring hope to people who are forced to be displaced here or anywhere else, as we witnessed yesterday. The recent incident, the explosion of the hydroelectric power station, is a serious case. It is an ecocide, and it's terrible. We are here to bring hope. We are also here to provide support and solidarity, especially to those who dedicate their lives, the military and journalists who tell these stories," emphasized the President of CNEWA.
Year after year, the Charitable Organization "CNEWA" supports dioceses, exarchates, monastic communities, the Kyiv Seminary, and many projects of the Patriarchal Curia of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
"For many years, the charitable organization 'CNEWA' has actively supported pastoral projects of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church at the national and local levels, including recent initiatives in medical and military chaplaincy," stated the Patriarchal Foundation "Mudra Sprava."
"After the full-scale invasion, 'CNEWA,' together with Ukrainian faithful from Canada, were among the first to respond to the urgent humanitarian needs of the Ukrainian people by supporting projects to provide food packages to residents of the front-line territories and settlements of internally displaced persons in church premises, acquiring medical equipment for military hospitals, and more," the comment reads.
Specifically, the organization has participated in the following charitable initiatives: providing food packages to the most affected individuals, comprehensive support to medical institutions with humanitarian aid, transportation, and equipment, organizing temporary housing for internally displaced persons and ensuring cybersecurity. Only for food packages during 2022-2023, the organization allocated over $1 million USD.
Peter Vaccari had the opportunity to visit the warehouse where the food packages are prepared and personally observe the packaging process.
"We have sent extraordinary food packages and supported hot meal distribution centers in besieged areas. We have provided assistance to pensioner refugees near Odessa, supported a shelter for people with special needs in Sambir-Drohobych, as well as provided spiritual and psychological counselling to the displaced in Ternopil. In Zaporizhzhia, we helped families displaced from Mariupol find temporary housing. We also provided medicines and other assistance to nine medical institutions, including the Sheptytsky Hospital in Lviv," the organization's official page states.
According to Father Taras Sydilo, administrator of the parish community of St. Elijah in Makariv, the Patriarchal Foundation "Mudra Sprava" regularly delivers necessary aid to the parish for the resettled people who have left the occupied and affected regions of Ukraine. "We strive to constantly support these people, and we are able to do so thanks to the charitable organization 'CNEWA' and 'Mudra Sprava'," the priest noted.
"We have seen extraordinary hope. We have seen how grateful people are. They have found their second home here. They are incredibly grateful to all the priests, sisters, and faithful of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church who have surrounded them with God's love," said Anna Dombrovska, project manager of the charitable organization "CNEWA," at the end of the visit.
