On April 4, at 4:00 p.m., the Polish-Ukrainian Sisterhood inaugurated. Its members from the Polish side include, among others Ewa Ewart, Dominika Kulczyk, Agnieszka Holland, Janina Ochojska and Olga Tokarczuk. From the Ukrainian one - incl. Iryna Deszczyca, Halyna Karp, Olha Matviienko, Oksana Zabużko and Iryna Zapatrina. The Polish-Ukrainian Sisterhood is a coalition of women from Poland and Ukraine, which will decide, inter alia, who will receive grants from the Support Fund for Women and Girls from Ukraine “Hi Girls!". In the first edition of the Grant Program, the value of the grants will reach almost PLN 1.5 million.
Almost 2.5 million refugees have already crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border since the beginning of the Russia's aggression against Ukraine. They are mostly women and children. This is well illustrated by the employment data. As many as 76% of people from Ukraine who started work in Poland at that time are women.
In order to provide them with long-term assistance, based, inter alia, on the creation of jobs, professional activation, support for education and culture, the Support Fund for Women and Girls from Ukraine was established. The fund is part of the "Hi Girls!" project, launched on March 8 by the Kulczyk Foundation. This way, the Foundation collects money for long-term help for the girls from Ukraine and their families. The collection is carried out on the accounts of the Kulczyk Foundation and on the Patronite portal, at patronite.pl/czescdzyszczescdziewczyny
So far, almost PLN 1.5 million has been accumulated on the Fund's account, of which PLN 1 million has been donated by Dominika Kulczyk, President of the Management Board of Kulczyk Foundation. The Polish-Ukrainian Sisterhood will be the administrator of these funds and it will - as an advisory body to the Kulczyk Foundation - award grants, both in this and subsequent editions of the Program. The organizers hope that the idea will be warmly received, and that the Fund's account will receive further payments.
- We do not know how long the Russian aggression against Ukraine will last. We also do not know when Ukrainian women will be able to return home, although we do not lose hope. We know that as long as they are in Poland, they will need constant help in adapting and arranging their lives on the spot. Thanks to the Sisterhood, we will be able to support the transfer of funds for the best projects, the adaptation of which will be of use. It is invaluable help for people from Ukraine - says Iryna Deszczyca, wife of the Ukrainian ambassador in Poland.
The Polish-Ukrainian Sisterhood included:
Magdalena Adamowicz - Lawyer, Member of the European Parliament
Walentyna Berezenko - Doctor, Head of the Children’s Hepatology Center of the State Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Kiev
Henryka Bochniarz - Economist, Chairman of the Main Council of the Lewiatan Confederation
Elżbieta Bodio - Vice-President of the Polish-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce
Iryna Deszczyca - Wife of the Ukrainian Ambassador in Poland
Ewa Ewart - Journalist, Director and Producer of Documentary Films
Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram – Attorney, Co-Founder of the "Free Courts" initiative
Agnieszka Holland - Director, President of the European Film Academy
Janina Ochojska - Humanitarian activist, President of the Polish Humanitarian Action
Maryna Kaftan - Education expert, Member of the Reform Support Team at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine
Myroslava Keryk - Historian, President of the "Our Choice" Foundation
Bogumiła Kaniewska - Literary Scholar, Rector of the University of Adam Mickiewicz in Poznań
Halyna Karp - Councilor of the Ivano-Frankivsk region, former Deputy Minister of Energy
Aleksandra Klich - Journalist, Editor-in-chief of "Wysokie Obcasy"
Dominika Kulczyk - Entrepreneur, President of the Kulczyk Foundation
Nataliya Kravets - President of the Ukrainian Center for Education
Olha Matviienko - Professor at the Department of Pedagogy of the Kiev National Language University
Marta Lempart - Social activist, initiator of the National Women's Strike
Joanna Mosiej-Sitek - Journalist, Deputy Publisher of "Gazeta Wyborcza"
Monika Płatek - Lawyer, Associate Professor at the University of Warsaw
Olga Struk - Entrepreneur, Founder of Arthur Murray Dance Studios
Olga Tokarczuk - Writer, Poet and Essayist, winner of the Nobel Prize
Olena Volyarska - Associate Professor of the Kiev National Language University
Oksana Zabużko - Writer, Poet and Essayist, Institute of Philosophy of the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences
Iryna Zapatrina - Professor of Economics, Founder of the Institute of Public-Private Partnership in Kiev
Under the Grant Program, the Sisterhood will select projects supporting social initiatives aimed at improving the situation of Ukrainian women and girls. Ideas will be awarded based on building a team of Polish and Ukrainian women at the local level.
The most important criteria for awarding the grants are:
- Support for family relationships
- Creating new jobs
- Support for local self-governments
- Activation of women and the elderly
- Support for humanitarian channels
- Support for education and scientific initiatives
- Support for cultural initiatives, especially in the local dimension
- Business activation of Polish-Ukrainian relations
- Sustainability of the proposed social infrastructure
- Projects which, on the one hand, will help women and girls from Ukraine to settle in Poland, and on the other hand, can start the Domino Effect - a permanent change in their reality, will be rewarded. We focus on community, regaining freedom and economic dignity. We also want these funds to go to organizations and initiatives at the local level – Dominika Kulczyk explains the idea of the Sisterhood.
- We believe that the time has come to talk about building a common Polish-Ukrainian society. We want to help our sisters from Ukraine find their second home in Poland. And if they want to - create conditions for them that will let them stay here forever - adds the President of Kulczyk Foundation.
At the same time, at ul. Ogrodowa 3 street, a Grant Service Center will be created, where you will be able to learn about the rules of granting or obtain help in completing the application. The Center for Helping Women from Ukraine "Hi Girls!", which has already been established by Kulczyk Foundation, operates at the same address. You can take part in special classes for Ukrainian women and their children, such as Polish language classes, as well as culinary, educational and music workshops. It is also possible to meet a psychologist, and there is also a children's corner on site.
- We are observing a huge burst of help for people from Ukraine. Poles will not be forgotten by History. We show the heart and great dedication. But as part of the Sisterhood, we want to go a step further. On the one hand, reward the most innovative ideas. On the other - support them financially. We want these projects to serve long-term support - says Henryka Bochniarz, President of the Main Council of the Lewiatan Conference.
On Women's Day, the most important Polish media also published a letter addressed to Girls from Ukraine. It was signed by a large group of famous Polish women - entrepreneurs, journalists, artists, and social activists. Details of the action are available at www.higirls.pl
