Teanna Sunberg shares an update about how NCM funds are being used to create a ‘Safe Space’ for moms and children crossing the border.
Teanna, her husband Jay and others from our Nazarene church in Poland have been at the Ukrainian-Polish border since March 2nd offering support and aid.
To help them continue this important work that they and others are doing in bordering countries, you can donate here ncm.org/Ukraine.
Update 17th March: Teanna Sunberg
Medyka, Poland or Przemysl train station are the first safe spaces Ukrainians encounter as they flee their country. Once across that border into Poland, they’re in the EU & protected by NATO – the very security for which Ukrainians protested in 2014.
There’s a steady flow of moms, grandmas, and kids carrying a few bags and heavy hearts. If they walk across Medyka (pictured here), they will board a bus (pictured here) that takes them to a TESCO warehouse. They’ll be able to organize themselves on the next bus which takes them closer to their destination.
As they travel, here are some challenges that they will face and overcome.
1. They haven’t showered for at least 24 hours, maybe longer, & they won’t shower at this stop.
2. They probably didn’t sleep in a bed last night. IF they get a bed tonight, it will be in a room filled with 40+ other women and children.
3. If a mom is alone with her kids, then everywhere she goes … the toilet, to get food, to ask a question – she carries the kids & all the bags with.
4. There are human traffickers lurking at each stop – offering rides in warm, comfortable cars to safe places in western countries.
5. If they take a train, they won’t sit on a seat. They’ll sit on the floor or stand for 3 to 7 hours.
6. Many people have no idea where they are going next and nobody to meet them when they get there. They don’t have a hotel room booked or a plan for how to get a permanent place or how to support the family. This isn’t because of poor planning or irresponsible adulting, this is the reality of war.
What are we doing? We are in the process of refurbishing a ‘Safe Space’ across from the train station where moms & kids can wait, play, warm-up bottles, & maybe take a shower. We’re interacting with & answering questions on the train platform, helping moms carry bags, blowing bubbles & giving toys to kids to make them smile. We’re developing a way that moms can access a room in Warsaw or Krakow to stay the night safely. Those sites exist, but connecting moms to the sites is the challenge.
Most of all, we are doing whatever it takes to rehumanize this journey. More about displacement & re-humanizing in the next post.
