In 2014, a shell struck 84-year-old Kateryna’s home in Luhansk. She was badly injured and nearly lost her sight. Still, she returned to the village she loved.
Help Kateryna find a sense of home that no war can take away
When home is taken, more than a roof is lost.
Since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, millions of Ukrainians have been forced from their homes. They have left behind their communities, their routines, and the places that held their memories.
Many now live in temporary shelters or in neighbouring countries such as Poland and Romania. They are carrying trauma, struggling to meet basic needs, and are often alone.
For more than 40 years, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) has walked alongside people forced from their homes by conflict. They have supported people in Ukraine since 2008 with shelter, food, psychosocial care and community. Declining funding now puts that care at risk.
This Christmas, Catholic Mission is partnering with JRS to help displaced people in Ukraine survive today and rebuild for tomorrow.
“I stepped into my house, buried in chunks of fallen plaster, and I was happy. Everything there was mine.”
In 2022, Kateryna sheltered in a basement for weeks with little food or water. During the evacuation she was separated from the others and fell into a shell crater.
A stranger pulled her out and shared his bread. Soldiers carried her to safety, and aid workers tended her injuries. Each act of kindness carried her forward, until she reached JRS.
Today Kateryna lives in a JRS-supported seniors’ centre in Lviv. She has found safety, friendship and people who listen. “I share stories, and people listen.”
Kateryna’s story is one of thousands. Children, mothers and elderly people are still facing this war without a place to belong.
Your gift this Christmas can provide:
• Emergency shelter – a safe place to sleep for people who have fled their homes
• Food and hygiene essentials – so families can meet their basic needs with dignity
• Psychosocial support – helping people carry the weight of war and begin to heal
• Long-term support – accommodation, language classes and community activities, so people can rebuild their lives
No one knows when this war will end. But people displaced by conflict cannot put their lives on hold while they wait for peace.
Pope Leo XIV has called on us to pray for peace in Ukraine, reminding us that “peace is built on respect for peoples.” Through JRS, that respect is lived out every day in a warm bed, a shared meal, and a welcome like the one Kateryna found in Lviv.
This Christmas, you can help bring that same welcome to someone who needs it.
Help people displaced by war find a sense of home
Registered Australian Charity (ABN 52 945 927 066)