Poland

Following Russias attacks on Ukraine, February 2022, millions of people were forced to flee their country. A Drop in the Ocean was rapidly responsing to the situation and offered our assistance towards local organisations. Four days after the invasion we had a team, included a polish coordinator present in Krakow, about two hours drive from the Ukrainian border.

Viser 2 frivillige i gule vester som henger opp klær på et stativ i en butikk.

At the end of March, the time came for us to hand over the work we have been doing in Poland for over a year to our amazing partner organization Internationaler Bund Polska. A handover of the project started already in January to ensure that the users of the services will not be affected by the changes. We are completely confident that the team at Internationaler Bund Polska will continue the work we have built together in a good way.

Read more here

Support for people fleeing Ukraine


The organisation The Multicultural Center of Crakow had already the ideas and plans ready for a huge free shop to function as a dignified distribution centre of clothes, inside a shopping mall in Krakow. To this work they wanted our expertise in recruitment and coordination of volunteers as well as handling logistics. In just 15 days after the invasion, the free shop had opened its doors and since then served the needs of clothing for thousands of refugees from Ukraine.

Shows a clothing store with a registration desk in front.

Our work in Poland

  • Our volunteers work in the free shop, assisting refugees to find the outfits they need.
  • We receive and sort incoming clothes. Small deliveries from the local neighborhood as well as large shipments.
  • We make sure the stock in the shop is at a required level at all times.
  • We contribute with recruitment, training and shift planning and coordination of volunteers and logistics.
  • We assist with crowd control and registration.
  • We look after and activate the children who are free to play in the safe children section while the parents find the clothes and shoes they need.

Our main focus in Poland

We have a team in Poland consisting of experienced coordinators, international volunteers and local volunteers. Our main focus is to provide the support needed by our Polish partners. For the time being the need for volunteers is significant, as we need enough people to cover two shifts a day, 6 days a week.

From experience we know and expect the situation to change rapidly, and we are continuously in contact with several actors in the area, to be able to support also other needs that may come up.