Emmaus Europe

Ukraine

Emmaus in Ukraine

Emmaus has had a presence in Ukraine since 2001 thanks to the creation of an Emmaus communities in Lviv. The group takes an active role in the fight against homelessness in the local area and welcome in companions to live and work within the community.

Origins

The Oselya community was set up in 2001 in Lviv, in the west of Ukraine, to help the homeless as no-one else was doing so. They distribute food, work in the streets, set up tents in the winter, edit a street newspaper and defend the interests of the homeless amongst the local authorities. Inspired by the Emmaus model the companions then developed income-generating activities: organising collections, repairing furniture and setting up a second-hand shop. The Oselya group became a member of Emmaus International in 2010 and is supporting the creation of new groups in Ukraine.

Main Activities

  • Welcome, providing accommodation, reintegration
  • Collecting, reusing, recycling and selling on objects
  • Political campaigning and awareness raising
  • Local, european and international solidarity initiatives

Secondary Activities

  • Repairing furniture
  • Social hotel for former companions
  • Daytime welcome centre
  • “Doing the rounds”
  • Publishing a street newspaper

Key numbers

1 member group

28 companions

33 volunteers

90 people involved in Emmaus

1 Local group
Click to see more information about a group

Overview

Grigory-Semenchuk.jpg

Grigory Semenchuk
National delegate for Ukraine

The Challenges in Ukraine

“NGOs in Ukraine were not allowed to run economic activities so we have had to come up with solutions to get around this. Our stores accept “voluntary contributions” for the second hand items we have on offer but we are not allowed to sell these items. We cannot sell goods donated from abroad either – this is why we do not accept transports of material from other European Emmaus groups as some communities do.”

With pictures

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Ukraine

Emmaus in Ukraine

It began in 2002 when the founder of Emmaus Oselya, Olesya Sanotska, visited the Emmaus Lublin community in Poland.

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