Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the Swiss association Hilfswerk Ukraine has been cooperating with the Lviv Polytechnic Center for the Collection of Humanitarian Aid. After the Lviv Polytechnic dormitories were damaged by enemy shelling, the Swiss association volunteered to help with the installation of broken windows and doors.
― In fact, from the first days of the full-scale war, when our university began to accept forcibly displaced persons from the territories where the fighting was going on, the Hilfswerk Ukraine association provided food and hygiene products. The Non-Governmental International Women’s Organization «Soroptimist International» (Swiss and Polish Unions) also assisted with the food aid. Soroptimists International are women who work together at the local, national and international levels to educate, empower and help women and girls to improve their lives. This was an important help for the thousands of people we housed in the educational buildings and sports halls of our university. We are extremely grateful for your concern and support, – noted Yurii Malynovskyi, co-chairman of the Center for the Collection of Humanitarian Aid.
Having learned about the destruction of student campus due to shelling of the city, representatives of the Hilfswerk Ukraine association came to Lviv to see and assess the situation with their own eyes.
– They were horrified by the scale of destruction they saw. It is important that it was a large delegation together with journalists. They publicized the atrocities committed by the Russians on our land. Representatives of the Hilfswerk Ukraine association with Ihor Helzhynskyi, director of the student campus, visited the dormitories to understand how they can help. After all, soon the students will return from vacation and it is necessary to provide them with proper living conditions. Realizing how critical the situation is, they responded to help install windows, doors, and communications that were damaged by the shock wave, – added Yurii Malynovskyi.
According to Yurii Malynovskyi, representatives of the Hilfswerk Ukraine association, in consultation with the management of the Lviv Polytechnic campus, agreed on an estimate for the manufacture and installation of windows in two dormitories, took measurements and ordered their manufacture. In the future, the priority and sequence of mounting will be determined.
Hilfswerk Ukraine, Switzerland, is a non-profit association founded on February 26, 2022, in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the war.
The Hilfsaktion Westukraine was founded in 1992 in cooperation with Jürg A. Streuli Senior (†2017) to mitigate the long-term effects of the consequences of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Hilfswerk Ukraine was headed by Hotz Robert Heinz (†2021), Honorary Citizen of Lviv, Honorary Prof. of Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University.
The coordinator in Ukraine and the current president of the association Hilfswerk Ukraine is Jürg Streuli. He has been collaborating with Prof. Robert Goetz for 30 years.
Slogan of Hilfswerk Ukraine: «Happiness must be passed on»
