For EUR student Sandra Garstka, the situation in Ukraine is very close now that family and friends of the Polish student are offering their homes to the many Ukrainian families. She set up an action and, together with the Eastern European Student Association, she is collecting things that she initially wanted to take to Poland herself. “I never expected that so many people would donate all these goods.”
Why did you start this action?
“Long story short, last week I finished my exams, and I went to Zeeland with my aunt who also happened to be my boss. I work in Rijswijk at an accounting office that is run by a Polish person. The entire team consists of Polish people. My boss Lousia was on the phone with her friend who lives in Poland in Warsaw. We heard from the friend of my aunt that she and many of her friends offered their houses to Ukrainian refugees and that they also are collecting goods in Poland. Many people got very involved in Poland because there were already many Ukrainians in Poland. They are our neighbors in the end. The same culture, so people started helping right away.”
“We thought, if we have a really big client base of Polish people in the Netherlands, maybe we could also raise some money and some goods. So, we shared it on our social media as a company. Last Sunday I thought, maybe people at the university and from my study also would like to support the initiative. I study International Bachelor Economics and Business Economics.”
What items do you want to collect and why these items?
“The main idea was to make it very simple and accessible to students. I am a student myself as well and I know that people don’t have much spare money that they can spend on things. So, I thought that the items must be small and very cheap, and accessible for students. Items we have on the list are hygienic articles, like a toothbrush, toothpaste, toiletpaper, wet tissues, pad and tampons for women, first aid articles like bandages, plasters and paracetamol and food which you can make by just boiling the water. So, it’s ready within seconds. And from other goods you can think of batteries, chargers and working power banks, and articles for babies like diapers, instant formula milk and the meals in jars for kids. The initial idea was to have articles who are easily accessible and very cheap. Just ready to grab on the campus.”
What is the top three things that students can do to help?
“I would say if you like to get involved in this, feel free to drop by and deliver something small. I think it’s very important to take good care of yourself and people around you, especially if they have friends or know people that come from Ukraine. I think the situations has been from great concern not only people from Ukraine. Just take good care of yourself. If you need to take a break from reading the news just do it, take a bath. Do something nice for yourself and talk to people around you so you make sure that people stay mentally healthy. You can donate money as well, every amount matters. I know some people think that it makes no sense if they donate 5 euros or not, but that is not true. Every amount matters. Every donated euro adds up to a huge amount. If you can afford it, do it. I already donate some money myself.”
Family and friends of yours have made their house available in Poland. What is the situation like there now?
“I think houses, schooling and jobs are the three biggest issues both Poland and the refugees are facing now. It’s concerning many people to be honest since this initiative started. I don’t have time to follow up the news, but hundreds of thousands of people are involved. I read on the news that they are expecting 4 million Ukrainian refugees to flee Ukraine. And these people also come to Poland. I think housing is also a difficult one. Poland is a poor country on its own as well, there are not even enough social houses for Polish people.”
“Education is also a big issue. The Ukrainian refugees do not speak the Polish language. Very often they don’t speak English as well. For example, my old French teacher offered at her language school lessons for free to the kids and their parents. And issue number three are the jobs. We all come across different people with low education or high education, but I think if you get more than a million people it’s difficult to ensure that everyone has a job and would be able to sustain themselves and their families in the long run.”
With whom are you organising this action?
“At first I started this action at Erasmus on my own. But very quickly the Eastern European Student Association joined me, which I’m super grateful of. They let me use their office as a storage space, which is very useful if you take a look at the amount of goods that have been donated so far. Right now, we are organising it together. Starting from today onwards my company will support me in transporting the goods. So, all the good will go first to Rijswijk to my main location where we are sorting all of them.”
“First the idea was that I would drive everything by myself to Poland, but I never expected that so many people would donate these goods. What happened at our office is that its even ten times the amount we have at Erasmus. In the end we managed to get a truck which will go to Poland but that cost money. The truck goes from the Netherlands straight to the Polish border and the petrol costs are 600 euros for one round. At my company we are also raising money, within our group of friends and employees. So that money will be used to transport the goods from the university as well. No one expected it to grow so big, so we have to adjust as we go.”
Are there any other things readers can do to help?
“I’m not sure if it’s legal for people to donate money for the petrol if I give them my IBAN. But if it turns out it’s okay and no one is going to look after me for this, it would be great if it’s possible to collect 600 euros for the petrol. To share and repost about this action on social media also helps a lot. I think we will be missing some storage space because the office at the Eastern European Student Association is becoming too small. We need money, storage space and people to share and support.”
- More information
Do you want more information? Read Sandra's Instagram post right here.
More information can also be found on the EESA instagram page.- Related content
