This story was updated March 7 to add Chalice Canada’s Ukraine Regional Assistance Fund.
A number of Catholic humanitarian agencies are launching emergency appeals to provide relief to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion of the country.
The pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need said it is granting $1.5 million in immediate financial assistance in Ukraine.
“What we all wanted to avoid has happened: Ukraine is in a state of war,” said Thomas Heine-Geldern, executive president of ACN.
“ACN has supported the Church in Ukraine during the past and it will not abandon her at this very critical and difficult time.”
The organization said it will also provide emergency help for the four Greek-Catholic exarchates (eparchies) and the two Latin dioceses in Eastern Ukraine, covering Kharkiv, Zaporizhya, Donetsk, Odesa and Krym.
Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada announced it is joining the relief efforts of Caritas Internationalis and CNEWA by sending $75,000.
Executive director Carl Hetu said, “we are joining our voices to strongly denounce the Russian act of war on Ukraine and in doing so endangering world peace.”
He said the organization is in solidarity with Canada’s Ukrainian Catholic bishops and their eparchies and is inviting people to join in prayers for peace. For more information or to donate, visit devp.org.
Caritas Internationalis launched an emergency appeal to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine, saying it will provide food, drinking water, safe accommodation, and hygiene kits to those who impacted by the conflict. The money raised will also assist with safe transportation for those who are looking to reach their loved ones in safe areas.
Caritas Internationalis is a confederation of more than 160 Catholic aid organizations including Canada’s Development and Peace who work at the grassroots level around the world. According to Caritas Ukraine, nearly 3 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance even prior to Thursday’s attack.
Since the summer, when the situation on the border between Ukraine and Russia appeared to be escalating, Caritas scaled up its operations in Ukraine. In addition to training staff and volunteers to assist with various humanitarian efforts, it also established temporary centres to assist people who were displaced by the conflict.
The Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada is also appealing for humanitarian support, partnering with the Canadian branch of the papal charity The Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA).
Donations can be made through The Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton. The eparchy said donations will help local Caritas centres assist millions of struggling families, including those who are displaced and in desperate need of food, shelter, medical attention.
Chalice Canada, a Catholic Nova Scotia-based development and aid charity, announced March 4 it has launched a disaster fund for the communities it serves in Ukraine.
All donations are being matched by a private donor until they reach $250,000.
The invasion has had a devastating impact on Chalice sponsor sites and families in Lviv, Ternopil and Pochaiv sponsor sites, the organization said. “The prices of food are skyrocketing, and the families and local staff we work with are struggling to cover even their most basic needs.”
The Ukraine Regional Assistance Fund will support the three communities in the west of the country where Chalice supports children experiencing poverty. Chalice will not use any of the money for its administrative costs.
Money will be transferred into the Chalice family funding bank accounts, which is Chalice’s model for depositing sponsorship funds.
