Ukrainian refugees put their ‘helpers’ in the limelight with a big party

About 100 refugees now live in the shelter in Andijk. “We feel safe here, everything is calm and quiet. We hope everything will be fine,” said party organizer Larisa Ostapenko.

Many elderly people also live in the building, they and all close neighbors are also invited. And so all volunteers who, among other things, give language lessons, organize sports and craft activities and do odd jobs.

For example, Gerben van de Wetering not only comes to make a cupboard door, he also gives a fixed sports hour on Saturday evening. “Anything that needs to be done, hang up the lamp, run the errand or if something is broken, I’ll come and fix it.” He ended up there through a call on Facebook. “In the beginning it was difficult to build a bond, it took a while, but when people recognize you, it gets better and better.”

Alderman Yannick Nijsigh is also there: “I admire the resilience of the Ukrainian refugees and am very happy with the volunteers who have been committed since the outbreak of the war. Without them, the daily lives of many refugees would look different.”