Help Ukrainian Refugees in Rural France

NOTE: We are just now looking for additional donations to pay for driving lessons for two young Ukrainians who need driver's licenses in order to work. Please see the update below!

Hi Friends. I am an American psychologist living in a small village, St-Thomas-de-Conac, in rural South-West France. My wife and I are part of a growing group of families in the Charente-Maritime that has opened our homes and hearts to welcome the Ukrainian refugee families that have just begun to arrive in our area. They have come with nothing but what they can carry, trusting that wherever they end up, they will find shelter and support. And in this part of France, they have not been disappointed.

What I have learned this week is that goodness can be contagious! It has been amazing to see our neighbors spring into action. Our friends, Ariane and Coen, have already welcomed three families – nine members of three generations – into their small hotel in the village of Port Mortagne (see the photo above). Francoise, a nearby winemaker, opened her house to a caravan of 40 people traveling from Spain to the Polish border. And last night, after two weeks of travel, a Ukrainian mother with her three children arrived in our home. We are being contacted daily by other refugee families, looking for places to stay. Luckily, my wife, Masha, speaks Russian and understands Ukrainian and is helping to translate.

But good-heartedness only goes so far. The families’ needs are becoming rapidly clear: They will need clothing, baby supplies, school supplies, toys, everything. The host families here in rural France are being very generous. The French Government will help with visas and work permits, and we've registered the refugees with the local Mairies to organize health care and school access for the children. But this takes time, and the emergency is here now. And so, we are raising money to help the refugees and their host families get through the early stages until the situation begins to stabilize.

Please donate what you can and help the good people of the Charente-Maritime help the Ukrainian refugees in their care.