Everyone helps where they can
Jeannine Pohland & Nina Krauße from the Chemnitz Volunteer Centre
The war in Ukraine is shaking the world. People are fleeing, most of them with little more than their children and a suitcase. Many people from Chemnitz want to help, donating items and travelling to the Polish-Ukrainian border to pick up relatives, acquaintances or complete strangers. Jeannine Pohland and Nina Krauße from the Chemnitz Volunteer Centre report on their current work on behalf of the many helpers who barely have time for a conversation like this. The centre was commissioned by the city of Chemnitz at short notice to coordinate the low-threshold donation and help services. This means they have their hands full.
How high is your current stress level on a scale of 1 to 10?
Jeannine Pohland: I would say 12. In the first few days, we received 150 to 180 calls a day, plus more than 100 emails. It's really overwhelming. However, we are both sitting here in a warm office and 'only' have the stress of being on the phone. That's nothing compared to the many, many people who, after their working week, set off on Friday nights in their private vehicles towards the Ukrainian border or spend ten or twelve hours a day accepting or sorting donations.
What exactly is your job?
Pohland: We are coordinating the aid during the war in Ukraine, we are not accepting any donations ourselves. We are the point of contact for anyone who would like to make their help available and who needs it. On 28 February, the first Monday after the start of the invasion, I received a call in the morning from the city's social welfare office asking if we could take on this task at short notice.
The Chemnitz Volunteer Centre has been in existence for 25 years and is run by Caritas. It is a contact point for volunteering in Chemnitz. Jeannine Pohland and Nina Krauße provide information, advice and refer people interested in volunteering and support associations, projects and organisations in finding volunteers. In 2021, for example, around 200 people were placed in a voluntary position. More than 600 people in Chemnitz are already registered for Corona-Alltagshilfe alone.
Who calls you?
Krauße: It's mainly people who want to help. Where can they make donations? Where can they lend a hand? Where can they get in touch if they have accommodation? There are many individual fates. There are people who drove to the border at the weekend and picked up refugees. Who takes them in, who gives them something, what happens next - there are countless questions. For example, many people don't realise that refugees have to register with the city. However, a sworn interpreter is required to translate their documents.
Pohland : An incredible number of people travelled to the border at the weekend to pick people up. In addition to acquaintances and relatives, many people from Chemnitz also travelled to the border on 'good luck' and brought a Ukrainian family to safety in Chemnitz. Others offer their help without knowing how it might actually be needed. For example, someone who has a VW bus contacts us. Two hours later, another person calls and says, 'I want to drive to the border and take some relief supplies with me. 'Do you know anyone who has a bigger car?' So we called the person with the VW bus and that night the two of them were in the car together on their way to Ukraine. It's amazing how many people get involved.
Do you have any more examples like this?
Krauße: Yes, a flight school from Lübeck contacted us and offered to fly relief supplies from Jahnsdorf to the Polish-Ukrainian border because the motorways in Poland were overcrowded. Or a woman who owned a restaurant donates crockery and cutlery. A social organisation calls and asks who they can donate the proceeds from a flea market to. There are countless examples of this.
Pohland: Many kindergartens, institutions such as care homes and even companies have started collection campaigns or offer support. A mobile phone shop distributes SIM cards. A large furniture store has offered mattresses and bed linen, a bakery chain is offering food. I was also touched by a company here in Chemnitz whose managing director is Ukrainian. He has been collecting medicines and medical equipment for days and driving them to the border. From there, they go to a children's hospital in Kiev, which has already been hit by bombs. The children there are being treated in the basement. Driving into Ukraine is difficult. We know of Ukrainian students who are filling rucksacks at the border and carrying relief supplies - including from Chemnitz - into the interior of the country. These are the heroes of Ukrainian aid, and we are doing everything we can to support them.
Krauße: Everyone makes a contribution. Everyone is important right now. And our coordination is also a great help. But we wouldn't be able to coordinate anything if it weren't for the many committed people.
In addition to the many small initiatives that have come together spontaneously, there are also two organisations that have been involved in refugee aid for a long time: Human Aid Collective and the Network for Integration and Future. They have been in constant action again since 27 February at the latest. Steffi Wagner, Chairwoman of the Network for Integration and Future, which has been in existence since 2015, says: "The willingness to help is enormous, I'm really impressed by the people of Chemnitz." Sorting through the donations is a challenge. The Network for Integration and Future uses them to equip transports travelling to Ukraine or passes them on to those arriving here. There is currently an increased need for prams and children's clothing from size 140 upwards, and Steffi Wagner is currently looking for a hall that the integration aid organisation can temporarily use free of charge to accept donated furniture and kitchen appliances. "Important: with a ramp for lorries," says Steffi Wagner. Monetary donations would also help a lot, as underwear and toiletries, for example, cannot be passed on second-hand.
Can you explain this willingness to help?
Pohland: People have to do something. Many feel helpless and by lending a hand, they have the feeling that they are not completely powerless. We already experienced a strong willingness to help at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, but this tops everything.
How can people currently help?
Krauße: There is a list on our website, www.freiwilligenzentrum-chemnitz.de/ukraine, which we are constantly updating. We collect all offers and requests for help there. People should look there first before they call us. Many questions are already answered there. We answer emails promptly. Practical help is mainly needed with sorting. However, some initiatives have put a stop to accepting applications because they can no longer keep up.
The situation is currently changing almost daily.
Pohland: Definitely. Teachers who offer German courses are coming forward. The city sports association wants to get involved. A midwife has got in touch and a teacher could accompany people on visits to the authorities. We still have to put some people off, because all of this is still to come. For example, we urgently need psychologists in the foreseeable future. We can't wait too long for that. At the moment, however, the top priority for the refugees is Food, a roof over their heads and clothing.
Krauße: We have also created a registration form for volunteers on our website. People can enter what voluntary help they can provide there. This includes, for example, driving services, language mentoring or support with paperwork.
Do you also have contact with refugees?
Pohland: That is increasing every day. Just now, two women with several children were here at the advice centre. They asked how they got clothes. The children were only wearing jogging bottoms. And then the women asked how they could help and offered to sort donations. We told them to arrive first and added them to our database as interpreters. After all, we need interpreters, including Russian speakers.
How emotional is all this for you?
Pohland: Very. We hear so many stories, people tell us about relatives with whom they no longer have contact. A man from Chemnitz told us that his girlfriend visited her family in Ukraine two weeks before the war started and is now there. She wants to go back, but not without her family It's heartbreaking.
Krauße: The first few days in particular were very emotional. When someone who has simply picked up refugees at the border cries on the phone because further help is not yet available, it doesn't leave us cold. It's very emotionally upsetting - for every aid worker. But that's nothing compared to the people in Ukraine who have to fear for their lives every day.