Registered as a charity in Poland, Operation Blessing Polska Foundation aims to help people displaced by war, natural or man-made disasters in Europe.

When Russia launched a full scale war in Ukraine on 24th February 2022, CBN’s Operation Blessing responded immediately to offer help. We deployed our disaster relief team to Poland, providing immediate assistance to refugees who were crossing the Polish borders in high numbers. In the first month, Poland welcomed over 2 million refugees from Ukraine. In response to this humanitarian crisis, CBN’s Operation Blessing immediately provided vital assistance, including food and hygiene supplies, to refugees at the border. Poland became a support base for CBN’s relief efforts in Ukraine, and a refugee assistance program was initiated in Poland, aligning with CBN’s vision of demonstrating God’s love by alleviating human need and suffering. 

Since then, at its peak, Poland hosted 1.7 million refugees. As of December 2023, official data indicated that 956,635 refugees live in Poland; 90% of this cohort were women, children, and elderly individuals.

The influx of refugees highlighted significant social needs, including the immediate requirement for food assistance and personal hygiene supplies to families who were unable to sustain themselves. These people were in crisis, uncertain of their future, hopeless, with their life’s belongings packed into a single bag. After the initial shock, many refugees faced challenges due to their lack of knowledge of the Polish language, struggles with assimilating into Polish society, and the urgent need for secure employment, housing, and self-sufficiency in an entirely unfamiliar environment. 

With the help from generous CBN partners, CBN’s Operation Blessing and Orphan’s Promise joined forces to establish a refugee assistance program, implementing specific projects to address these immense needs: 

• Border Relief station at Medyka We set up a large, heated tent where people could rest and recover, charge their phones, clothes and hot food and drinks. From here we assisted refugees with information and directions, working together with local church shelters to refer vulnerable adults and children. We set up a special corner for the children where they could watch Superbook in Ukrainian language and do arts and crafts. We were able to bring comfort, prayer and encouragement to so many refugees crossing the border. A total of 4,596 individuals received assistance in the tent.
• Operation Blessing Food Station We set up a mobile food station by the tent, serving hot meals and drinks to over 10,545 people crossing into Poland. We set up a seating area where we could serve people, bringing value and God’s love to them.
• Superbook Ministry We set up rooms in two large refugee shelters to share God’s love with children through Superbook. Our Refugee Outreach Team organised games, sport and fun activities to minister to children who experienced the harsh reality of war. Our team travelled across Poland to various shelters to deliver food and organise Superbook events. This ministry proved to be a very valuable tool to share hope to so many children and mothers.
• Orphan’s Promise training centre in Warsaw Established in July 2022, the centre provides humanitarian aid, food distribution, educational programs, Polish language lessons for children, youth, and women. Spiritual care, prayers, Superbook activities for children, and life-skill lessons for youth are offered, fostering friendships and a sense of belonging.
• Trauma care training to churches We funded trauma training for Polish churches, helping them to minister to children who incurred trauma from the war.
• Food procurement and warehousing Whilst working at the border station, we simultaneously set up an effective logistic chain with the aim to procure food and hygiene items for Ukraine and our projects in Poland. Two warehouses in Poland and two warehouses in Ukraine were set up. Food was purchased at wholesale prices and delivered to our Polish warehouse at the border, from where trucks delivered to our warehouses in Ukraine. In partnership with over 100 churches, food was distributed across the country, including high risk areas close to the front line. To date, we have sent more than 250 large trucks into Ukraine.
• Bread bakery With the help from a church in the USA and CBN partners, a bread bakery was established – delivering thousands of fresh loaves of bread to villages close to the front lines. The smell of fresh bread gave hope to people who lost so much, including their own home.

Today, we continue to stand with Ukraine through food procurement for refugees as well as internally displaced people inside Ukraine. We have been able to apply all we learned since the start of the Ukrainian war in other outreach projects, such as our disaster relief efforts in Turkey and Morocco.