Delivering hope to Ukrainian arrivals

Galway Rural Development has been to the fore of the county response for the resettlement of Ukrainians across the county, having spent recent weeks supporting initiatives – from sorting donations to providing direct supports to the various centres in the county.

In addition, last week the GRD team were busy moving donated items across the county, to and from some of the main centres.

Senior Manager of GRD’s SICAP team Anne Cassidy revealed that they were organising donation drives for items into their offices for nearby centres – and they had recently received approval to redirect SICAP funding.

“It’s a huge challenge for the team and we intend on hiring a Ukrainian to work with us and help with translations and in terms of explaining rights, entitlements and so on,” she admitted.

But she also highlighted the wider county response.

“The Galway public continue to be very charitable. The local businesses and business owners we’ve contacted asking for targeted aid have been enormously generous, and indeed we’ve also already found several Ukrainians work, mainly in retail. The extent to which the county has responded has been remarkable,” she said.

GRD CEO Steve Dolan acknowledged that the new arrivals had been through so much – which made the reaction all the more critical.

“To see the response across Galway, from Kiltormer, to Kinvara, to Carna, can only make you proud,” he said.

“The groups in local communities have been so responsive from the welcome committees to the culture nights organised, and we have been supporting in every way we can.

“I can also only praise the work of the DSP, the HSE, and other organisations. At our end, we’ve hired a full-time Outreach Officer seconded to and funded by the HSE which links-in with our own SICAP and Tús-RSS teams,” he said.

And he revealed that GRD had taken its proposal for a Ukrainian-specific Tús programme directly to the Minister.

“These people need ‘purpose’ and are so keen to contribute,” he said.

“We are hopeful – given the benefits in terms of education and training, the contribution to mental and physical health, and especially in terms of integration and breaking language and cultural barriers – that our request will be granted.

“So many Ukrainians want to play a role in their new communities and we should support them in doing so,” he concluded.