‘They Matter to Someone’

Feb. 2, 2026

In a Ukrainian war zone, Polish religious sisters partner with the Knights to sustain families who have lost everything

By Jarosław Herman and Nazar Zozulia

Feb. 2, 2026

Sister Kamila Frydryszewska cares for two children residing at the congregation’s home for single mothers in Korotych, Ukraine — Sister Kamila Frydryszewska of the Little Missionary Sisters of Charity cares for two children residing at the congregation’s home for single mothers in Korotych, Ukraine, in April 2023. The home, which was evacuated at the start of the war, has reopened to shelter internally displaced persons from the Kharkiv region.

The road to the de-occupied zone was pocked with craters and lined with signs warning of landmines. Despite the danger, a group of four religious sisters eased their van, loaded with food and supplies, along the treacherous route.

“Driving through those shattered villages was such a difficult experience — that fear was still there,” said Sister Kamila Frydryszewska of the Little Missionary Sisters of Charity.

The sisters’ mission is located in Korotych, Ukraine, on the outskirts of Kharkiv — a city just 25 miles from the Russian border that endures relentless shelling, often suffering dozens of attacks in a single day.

Sister Kamila, who is from Poland, has served in Ukraine for more than 12 years. Before the full-scale invasion, her congregation operated a shelter for single mothers in Korotych — a safe haven for women escaping domestic violence or homelessness. However, the chaos of February 2022 upended the sisters’ mission. Most of the mothers previously housed in the shelter had fled the area, leaving the community of sisters with an empty house in a war zone.

“We decided to focus more on humanitarian aid, since we were alone in the house,” Sister Kamila said.

This decision came at a time of desperate need. Villages surrounding Korotych had just been liberated from Russian occupation, revealing widespread destruction and hunger. The sisters were eager to help their neighbors, but local supply chains were broken and funding was scarce.

“I remember that at that time we received a phone call from the Knights of Columbus about aid,” Sister Kamila recalled.

‘IT TRULY WAS PROVIDENCE’

Soon after the Knights contacted the sisters, approximately 11 tons of food and hygiene products — provided through the Order’s Ukraine Solidarity Fund — arrived at the shelter. The delivery included pallets of pasta, canned meat and fish, rice, and hundreds of ready-made food packages.

“It was the biggest humanitarian aid gift we received,” Sister Kamila said. “I believe it reached thousands of people.”

“Those packages … were packed by councils from the Polish jurisdiction,” explained Youriy Maletskiy, past state deputy of Ukraine. “For the people who couldn’t leave Kharkiv, it was a symbol of solidarity not only from western Ukraine but also from Poland.”

Today, local councils organize the packing of aid themselves and source products directly from Ukrainian food producers, supporting struggling businesses.

Throughout the winter and spring of 2022, the sisters loaded their vehicles with supplies and ventured into villages that had been on the front lines or under occupation. The roads were treacherous — often mined or destroyed — and the fear of renewed shelling was constant.

When they arrived in the village of Hrakove, located on the border where Russian and Ukrainian forces had clashed, the sisters were struck by the devastation.

“It was shocking. The village, and just seeing the people there,” Sister Kamila said. “We handed out aid [from the Knights] to people, and there was a letter inside from Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly. I remember people reading that letter. It moved many of them.”

Sister Renata Jurczak of the Little Missionary Sisters of Charity delivers humanitarian aid packages provided by the Knights of Columbus to a village near the frontline in Kharkiv, Ukraine, in February 2023. The sisters have distributed tons of food and hygiene supplies to isolated communities in de-occupied areas.

Among the many tragedies the sisters encountered, one story related by an elderly woman from a liberated village stood out. After returning to the village following relocation, her son was killed by an anti-tank mine.

“When we first brought aid there — she came and just cried,” Sister Kamila recalled. “Later, as we kept coming with aid, we built a relationship with her.”

‘THEY KNOW HOW TO TRUST’

These encounters in mined villages, where people are forced to stay on marked paths to avoid death, were a testament to human resilience, said Sister Kamila.

“It’s hard to talk about testimonies like this,” she reflected. “You just look at these people, and for me, they themselves are the testimony.”

Today, the shelter in Korotych is no longer empty. The sisters have returned to their original charism, providing support for mothers and children. Four sisters live at the shelter permanently. Each of them comes to Korotych in Ukraine by her own choice. They travel to Poland once a year for vacation or in connection with meetings at the monastery in Poland. Most of the current shelter residents are internally displaced persons from the battered Kupiansk district or dangerous sectors of Kharkiv.

Living in a war zone takes a toll on everyone, especially the children, Sister Kamila said. Yet, in the terrifying moments of an air raid, the roles are sometimes reversed. She recalled the night a Russian drone attacked a postal depot near the shelter.

“We were all sitting downstairs by the basement with the mothers and the children,” she said. “We were all so scared, but the children just started singing songs. You want to protect them from suffering, but sometimes it feels like they’re the ones protecting us. They somehow know how to trust — even though it breaks your heart.”

In September 2025, Knights in Ukraine, with help from the Order’s Ukraine Solidarity Fund, delivered school care packages, equipping the children at Korotych — including those served by the sisters — with basic supplies needed to begin the school year. Knights also provided 55 winter coats in December 2025, helping children endure the harsh winter months in a place where utilities are often impacted by war.

In Kharkiv Oblast, the Ukraine State Council not only supports the sisters but also works closely with the local hierarchy to deliver aid packages for distribution by the Church.

“We thank the Knights of Columbus for this collaboration, their solidarity, their understanding of people’s needs, and their help,” said Bishop Vasyl Tuchapets, exarch of Kharkiv.

“In a situation like this — so dark, so unjust, so inexplicable — people desperately need to feel that they are part of something,” Sister Kamila said. “They need to feel that someone cares, that they matter to someone.”

To learn more about the Order’s work in Ukraine and to support these efforts, visit kofc.org/ukraine.

*****

JAROSŁAW HERMAN AND NAZAR ZOZULIA write from Kraków, Poland.

‘They Matter to Someone’

‘IT TRULY WAS PROVIDENCE’

‘THEY KNOW HOW TO TRUST’

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