Britt (pictured above) works for ADRA in Norway and shared the following account from the border of Poland where she is currently working with refugees fleeing from Ukraine as one of ADRA’s emergency response communications coordinators.

During this crisis, our thoughts are with the many women in Ukraine.

One woman pushes her disabled son in a wheelchair. She has a backpack, a wheeling suitcase, and another child tagging along at the back. 

“At that moment I thought to myself that there really is nothing a woman can’t do.”

It’s a refugee mother at the Polish Ukrainian border who tells us this. She has just arrived from Ukraine.

Trains out of the country are packed with women and children. They have first priority of leaving the country. The train goes slowly and sometimes stops to avoid attacks.

There is no electricity on the trains. They keep the lights off in order to be as invisible as possible. Doors are locked and there is almost no air to breathe. Every now and then, someone has an anxiety attack and knock on the walls, feeling trapped. 

Some have had time to prepare for the journey. They have packed nuts, snacks, and drinks. Others flee on short notice with nearly nothing. But on the train, the women and children are sharing what they have in solidarity.

The refugee mother we spoke with is happy to be in safety but worries about her husband at home. She was not able to call him before she could borrow a phone from an ADRA worker. The relief on her face is visible as she calls for her child: “Papa is on the phone!”

Also, the women staying inside Ukraine are strong. 

Mothers do the best they can for their children in the bomb shelter. 

In the less hit areas, women are gathering in basements to make food to send to the worse hit areas. 

Thank you for supporting ADRA’s emergency intervention in Ukraine and neighboring countries, as well as our work around the world.