News from Ukraine

Over 1000 days on since the start of the large-scale conflict on 24 February 2022, we bring you an update on the actions taken by Emmaus Oselya (Lviv). The group continues to run projects to assist the most vulnerable thanks to their determination and the support of all the Emmaus groups through the Ukraine Fund, managed by Emmaus Europe.

Since the start of the conflict, Emmaus Oselya has been there to help different groups of extremely vulnerable people. This includes homeless people, who have increased in number since 2022, and people from the east of Ukraine, displaced persons and families from conflict zones.

Every Thursday, the group distributes hot meals (soup, tea, bread) to around one hundred people.

The number of people who come every day to the social support centre is constantly on the rise. At the centre, they can find something to eat, have a shower, talk to the organisation’s psychologist or see a doctor. They can also get a haircut or find warm clothes for the winter. This centre, which is one of a kind in Ukraine and was financed to the tune of €285,000 by Emmaus Europe via the Ukraine Fund when it was built in 2022, has become a benchmark praised by the public authorities. Some doctors come from Kyiv to provide free treatment at the centre.

Every week, some twenty families take part in workshops set up by the organisation’s psychologists to address the trauma caused by the conflict.

Lastly, the organisation still needs to make more room to welcome companions forced to flee the conflict. There were 15 in 2020, 30 in 2022 and the community is now home to 36 companions.

The ongoing, unwavering support from Emmaus Europe and European groups

Every month, the Ukraine Fund (managed by Emmaus Europe and replenished by the Emmaus groups) finances the distribution of hot meals, and a large part of the operating costs of the social centre (€4,000/month), which amounts to approximately €50,000/year.

In addition, the financing of longer-term projects enables the group to develop economic activities and provide better care for those being supported.

In October 2024, the Ukraine Fund financed the renovation of its furniture workshop, so that the organisation could expand its activities (€16,000). Thanks to an additional donation of €10,000 from Emmaus Longjumeau, via Emmaus Europe, the organisation was able to renovate and extend its second-hand shop and improve the therapy workshop space for families (July 2024).

Future projects

Oselya’s determination is not waning, despite the uncertainties pertaining to the election of Donald Trump in the United States, and the very challenging situation on the frontlines. In 2025, the organisation would like to renovate the apartments to accommodate 11 people (€20,000 is required for the renovation work), install solar panels to reduce energy use (approximately €6,000) and develop a solidarity kitchen project, for regular customers and beneficiaries to be able to meet and have lunch free of charge.

If your Emmaus group is interested in helping finance these projects, please contact Emmanuel ! Financial needs are not lacking and will exceed the amount in the Ukraine Fund, which currently totals €185,000.

The support of all the European groups for Ukraine is one the most treasured gifts for the Oselya group. This support boosts their determination and its effects are still being felt after nearly three extremely difficult years. Our heartfelt thanks to them for their trust.

News Tackling Poverty / Solidarity Ukraine

Oleksandr and Serhiy, companions from the Oselya community in July 2024. Credit: Emmanuel Rabourdin

ECRE

ECRE (European Council on Refugees and Exiles) is an alliance of 127 NGOs in 40 countries, created in 1974 to promote the rights of refugees and asylum seekers in Europe.

It supports its members through a range of activities, from legal support and litigation to lobbying on European policies and communication and awareness-raising campaigns on the rights of exiles. Emmaus Europe became a member of ECRE in 2024.

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European Commission 2024-2029 : Austerity and competitiveness

We now know the list of European Commissioners put forward for the 2024-2029 term of office. It is no great surprise that the European Commission is heading in a worrying direction for the future of our activities and our values. It is now up to the European Parliament to hold hearings with each of these candidates to decide whether or not they should be appointed to the post of European Commissioner.

The strong presence of conservative and right-wing parties is a source for concern, as at the European level, these parties are rarely receptive to our cause and share very few of our values. This raises concerns about their ability to defend social rights, equality and climate justice, issues that should be at the forefront of European concerns. Of the 27 Commissioners proposed (one per Member State), 12 are from conservative parties, five from liberal parties and one is from a far-right party. Furthermore, five are labelled as independents, but are in fact close to right-wing and far-right parties. Only five Commissioners are from social democratic parties.

With regard to content, we are also concerned about the loss of the Social and Employment Commissioner position and the appointment of three different Commissioners responsible for migration policies, with a prevalent use of terms such as “prosperity”, “competitiveness” and “security”. In the letters sent to the Commissioners to define their roles, the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, unapologetically defends a vision of Europe geared towards competitiveness, economic growth and security. At Emmaus, this choice raises alarm bells, as it promotes a Europe of increasingly closed borders and an economic model that favours big business, while neglecting social issues, human rights and crucial environmental concerns.

However, there are a few positive points worth highlighting. The establishment of a Commissioner for the circular economy, whose tasks will include working on drafting a law on the circular economy. The creation of a Commissioner for “energy and housing” now makes access to housing an integral part of European responsibilities, which has not been the case until now. Lastly, the implementation of an anti-poverty strategy has been announced, and we will endeavour to take part in it with our partners, despite the unfavourable political context in terms of reducing the causes of poverty.

Circular economy / The environment Defending human rights / Migration European Union News Tackling Poverty / Solidarity

European Commission Credit: EmDee, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Emmaus Campus: young people take centre stage!

European young people are increasingly affected by precariousness and the Emmaus movement is seeking ways to meet their needs. This idea also involves reviewing our practices to allow young activists to join us. In Paris, the Emmaus Défi group is trying to meet this twofold challenge by creating Emmaus Campus, a young and inspiring integration project! We met Mederic, its director:

Can you tell us why Emmaus Défi came up with the idea of setting up Campus?

In 2020, Emmaus Défi made three observations:

We were at maximum capacity in our current premises, with 150 employees on work integration schemes… and yet, similarly to all the other Emmaus groups, a large number of people were still knocking on our door and we were unable to help them.
The precariousness of young people has doubled over the last twenty years and was further exacerbated in the wake of the COVID crisis. The Emmaus movement was only partially able to address this issue.
Young people are increasingly keen to get involved, but we have not geared our welcoming and volunteering methods to suit them.

Through the creation of Emmaus Campus, Emmaus Défi aimed to set up a scheme that would address these three issues.

How does it work specifically?

Emmaus Campus carries out “classic” Emmaus group activities. It runs a work integration project that supports people experiencing job insecurity by offering solidarity-based work involving the collection, sorting and sale of second-hand items. We simply tried to add a youth dimension to every aspect of our work:

We welcome a higher proportion of young people among our employees, in order to meet our target of ¾ under the age of 30.
We set up our shops near universities or places where young people gather, such as the campus at the Sorbonne Nouvelle faculty, or Forum des Halles shopping centre.
We regularly organise pop-up sales on campuses and at universities.
We offer special sales and discounts in our shops to enable young people to buy articles at low prices (-30% for under 30s).
We organise solidarity donations of clothes for students facing hardship.
We welcome a lot of interns and have launched “Pass Campus”, a voluntary scheme for young people.
By the end of the year, we will initiate “inser-jeunes”: a mobile team made up of 100% employees under 30 on integration schemes, who will receive appropriate support and carry out collection, sales, awareness-raising and distribution activities in student settings.

What advice would you give to other groups in Europe who would like to set up a similar activity?

Go for it! The starting point is actually fairly straightforward. You just need to tailor your current activities to a specific group of people, with particular needs and constraints. Start by listening: what do they need and want? In terms of your group’s current work, what is preventing them from becoming potential volunteers or beneficiaries?

It seems obvious, but the challenge of welcoming young people in our groups is absolutely vital for the future of our movement. It’s an enormous source of creativity and energy that we cannot do without!

We could, and should, come up with many different types of Emmaus groups, tailored to specific groups of people, focussing on the most vulnerable and people whose needs we are not yet fully addressing. Emmaus for seniors, Emmaus for single-parent families, Emmaus for people with disabilities, etc. This would enable us to become even more inclusive and to really welcome everyone.

France News Tackling Poverty / Solidarity

Credit: Emmaus Campüs