Pahīatua raises funds for Ukrainian refugees
Pahīatua is hosting amonth-long series of events and exhibitions in a show of solidarity for the Ukrainian refugees sheltering in its Polish twin town.
Throughout next month and in July, the town will host film screenings, a fundraising auction and raffle, and the museum will hold a virtual tour of a camp the Polish refugee children sought shelter in.
All proceeds will go to the small town of Kazimierz Dolny, which is hosting hundreds of Ukrainian refugees.
Pahīatua and Districts Museum president Gilda Mcknight had been the driving force behind the project and still maintained contact with the Polish town.
‘‘We’re still working out if our support is going to bemonetary, or if it’ll be packages [sent] to the school or to the community. Certainly, they’re going to be supporting these families for a long time. The number I was given in March was 200 refugees, but that’s likely increased by now.’’
The town’s 78-year-old relationshipwith Poland runs deep after 733 Polish refugee children and 105 adult caregivers were housed at the Pahīatua camp from 1944 to 1949.
In 2018, this bond was formalised as Pahīatua signed a twin town agreement with Kazimierz Dolny; a small town 160 kilometres west of the Ukrainian border.
Today, like Pahīatua 78 years ago, Kazimierz Dolny’s residentswere sheltering hundreds of Ukrainian refugees, including 60 children from an orphanage.
‘‘Their generosity is incredible’’ said Mcknight. ‘‘They’re just opening up their homes and inviting these families in.’’
The headmaster of a school in Kazimierz Dolny, Janusz Raczkiewicz, wrote to Mcknight in March updating her of the situation in his town.
He said the community was gathering gifts, clothing, food and toys while local canteens helped prepare meals for children.
Ukrainian children were attending classes with Polish children and a preparatory department for thousands more refugee children would be established so they could learn Polish and attend Polish schools.
The film being shown at Pahīatua’s Regent Cinema, Overcoming Fate, was about the arduous journey made by Poland’s refugee children in the 1940s.
Mcknight said she hoped the film would help people draw parallels between then and now. ‘‘We’re going to have the Polish ambassador come to visit for the screening, and I’m trying to see if we can get Ukrainian flags in the shop windows through the town.’’
Overcoming Fate will be screened in Pahīatua on July 4 and 5 and at the Dannevirke Regent Theatre on July 11.
The auction will be held online from June 13 – 19 and the virtual tour is scheduled to be released on June 25.