Aurélien, ESC volunteer from France

I arrived in Poland on 20th February, four days before the start of the war, so I can’t really pronounce myself on what changed. I just happened to arrive in this very particular context and it is hard for me to dissociate my project from the atmosphere created by the consequences of the conflict. The first days seemed pretty hectic and my second meeting at IB Polska office was in a room full of food donations and people trying to get help. I actually met a lot of volunteers from our group for the first time at a demonstration in front of the Russian consulate. Being in this crowd felt a bit surreal, I think this is the moment I actually realized the emotional implications these events had on the Polish and Ukrainian people. 

At the beginning, I helped one afternoon at the warehouse in Daszyńskiego, trying to sort clothes. I also helped several times at Szafa Dobra, once helping to set up hangers and receiving the first arrival of clothes, and the other times in the warehouse a few weeks after, to sort clothes. I could see how the place changed and everything got coordinated in only two weeks. It was really impressive. I currently volunteer in Szafa Dobra once a week. I mainly work in the warehouse and the tasks are really clear. I feel more useful there since my knowledge of Polish and Ukrainian is not enough to support people. It is a very interesting moment for me. I meet very different people, from workers whose companies let them take a day to volunteer, to international people that wish to help. Everyone is here to contribute, even with small actions. I would say that the level of mobilization and solidarity shown by the organizations and inhabitants of Krakow is what amazed me the most.