Holy Family Catholic Church raises funds for Ukraine

Leisure World Holy Family Catholic Church, led by the Rev. Joseph Son Nguyen, who is himself a refugee of war, is part of the close-knit Catholic Diocese of Orange, which has been a portal of aid to the displaced people of Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February.

The church first focused on the task of assisting the flood of Ukrainian refugees in Poland. As the refugee situation stabilized, a network of aid was established to organize and focus efforts.

The Diocese of Orange collaborated with Catholic Relief Services, a U.S.-based aid organization, who in turn partnered with Caritas International to coordinate efforts.

Currently, various Caritas partners including Caritas Europe, Caritas Ukraine, Caritas-Spes, Caritas Romania and Caritas Moldova are the points of service on the ground in the war-torn region.

Besides aid efforts inside Ukraine, Caritas is present in neighboring countries to prepare for waves of displaced people, mapping out initial responses and conducting assessments with its network near Ukraine’s borders.

Holy Family Church is grateful to the friends and parishioners who have been more than generous. The funds raised are being used by Catholic Relief Services and Caritas partners to provide numerous humanitarian services, including:

• Field kitchens to provide food.

• Reception services at Caritas offices, train stations and other locations for displaced families in transit. These will provide information, referrals, food, water, hygiene items and psychosocial support.

• Transportation of displaced people to friends, families and local social services.

• Evacuation centers providing shelter, food and psychosocial support for displaced families. These centers will include support to address emotional care, including case management and child friendly spaces.

• Evacuating vulnerable children from centers in conflict areas to centers in safe zones.

Holy Family extends a big thank you to the Lapidary Club for the extraordinarily successful Ukraine T-shirt fundraiser and donation to the Ukrainian refugee relief work through the church.