Since August 2021, we have been providing humanitarian assistance to people on the move regardless of their skin color, country of origin, religion, gender or age. We also advocate for respecting basic humans rights of people crossing the border. Every person has an inalienable right to life, health and safety. Every person should receive help if they need it. Every person should be able to help another person whose life and health is in danger.
Helping is possible thanks to your support. Do you want to know what you are funding when you deposit a donation or buy aid products? Each product description is an excerpt from a story about our daily work and about what exactly does it take to support the people who, after crossing the Polish-Belarusian border, end up in the forests or swamps, and later in detention centres.
Intervention aid
People who cross the border spend many days and nights in the forest. Often, they experience violence from Belarusian and Polish authorities. Their mental and physical condition can be very poor. In winter, people on the move experience hypothermia, but it also happens in the summer - people get drentched and cool down very quickly. Serious orthopedic injuries and cuts from crossing the wall at the border are among the most common conditions. There are recurring stomach problems due to lack of access to food and clean water. On top of that, there are lacerated wounds and other wounds that have gone untreated for long periods of time, often festering and causing terrible pain.
Scale of need
Every week, about 100-150 people on the move ask us for help. We bring a hot meal, tea and dry clothes for each of them. Medications, bandages, sleeping bags and powerbanks are also often needed. Since the beginning of the crisis, we have provided humanitarian aid to more than 10,000 people (as of August 2023) - this number continues to grow.
In addition to providing direct humanitarian aid, we provide legal support - we take part in proceedings to approve applications for international protection and we support people who are locked up in guarded detention centers. We also document human rights violations in the border area and constantly call on the Polish government to implement a humanitarian solution to the crisis and to de-escalate violence.
From donation to direct support
Transparency is very important to us. We want every person who decides to support us to know what happens with their contribution. That's why we've described exactly how our store works and what the path from donation to direct support looks like - you can read about it here.
