The Center of Good on 65 Mińska Street in Warsaw began its operations inspired by Pastor Marek Sobotka from the South Christian Community. From the first day of the war, we managed to initiate a very active support center for refugees.

We started with warehouse activities; this place served as a hub for humanitarian aid deliveries for many churches in Warsaw. Individual refugees began to appear at the warehouse seeking help, so we managed to acquire additional space and set up a “free shop” where refugees could obtain clothing, food, and basic hygiene products (often spontaneously donated by the residents of Warsaw). The center began its daily, regular work.

Since May 2022, we have managed to launch another activity in this place – professional Polish language courses. We believe that culturally and linguistically Ukrainians and Poles are close, but fluency in the Polish language is important for better employment opportunities or communication. The courses were extremely popular, and we conducted them until the autumn of 2023. While women were learning the language, another need arose – childcare. So we opened a children’s corner, where we provided care to all those in need. In the summer of 2022, the opportunity to acquire lunches arose, and daily lunch distribution began at the Center. Since the summer of 2022, meals have still been distributed here daily (depending on needs and possibilities) from 80 to 200 meals.

In October 2022, regular aid convoys to churches in Ukraine also began. The convoys are operationally prepared and directed by volunteers from the South Christian Community. Every month, a team of several vans departs with aid directly to churches in all regions of Ukraine. After Mission acquired two vans in the summer of 2023, the Center of Good at 65 Mińska Street became a warehouse base for other convoys co-organized by us.

In November 2022, the Center also became a logistics space for the “Rays of Hope” project. Now, when the aid enthusiasm for Ukrainian refugees has significantly diminished and most aid centers have closed – our Center of Good is still operating, visited by over 100 people daily who receive food or material assistance. It is a place where one can receive spiritual advice and assistance; we also organize events for refugees (e.g., Christmas Surprise), and all this would not have happened without:

• the enormous daily work of the Polish-Ukrainian team of employees and volunteers associated with the South Christian Community,
• financial support from many churches and organizations abroad (Samaritan’s Purse Australia, Korea, Germany, and CMA Canada),
• good cooperation with many charitable organizations and volunteers from Poland.