UN awards Polish couple for providing safe housing for refugees since the start of war in Ukraine

euronews (in English)

Euronews spoke to Wladyslaw Grochowski, who has been recognised, along with his wife, by the UN for providing safe accommodation for refugees in Poland.

Transcript

00:00 Władysław Gorachowski and his wife Lena have been recognized by the UN for their work in

00:05 providing safe accommodation for refugees. Their hotel network provides 500,000 free

00:11 lodging places.

00:12 On the 24th of February we welcomed the first refugees to the hotel in Lublin. The next

00:19 day we had 16 crisis staff in all 16 hotels. We welcomed everyone who applied. I am proud

00:29 that we managed to survive in such difficult situations.

00:34 It was the 2nd of April, we crossed the border. We arrived in Janów at the hotel. It was

00:41 night, 2 a.m. When you travel with the whole family, with one luggage, and you don't know

00:47 where you are going. We didn't know. It was just a trip and you don't know where you

00:54 are going to sleep. We arrived and there were cooks, a lot of workers. We got warm food.

01:01 We went to the room that was available to us. The first thing was to sit on the bed and

01:10 we didn't know what to do next. We didn't know, we didn't know. But there was a support

01:25 for strangers. There was a bus full of refugees from different parts of Ukraine. We were

01:32 fed, we were given a bed. It was so important for us. I feel responsible for these people.

01:39 If I have more, maybe I can afford more. It would be a shame if I didn't meet the

01:47 needs of people who were in need. I am proud that we managed to survive.

01:54 The Rogochowski family has been constantly supporting refugees for two years now. This

02:08 is one reason the UNHCR has awarded them the Nansen Prize.

02:13 They have given not more than aid to refugees. They have empowered refugees by helping them

02:20 to find jobs, to get trainings, to get socially included, alongside also other people in need.

02:25 They also help Polish people in need. And secondly, they have mobilized the business

02:30 community, they have worked with cities, they have worked with humanitarian organizations.

02:35 So it's a whole of society approach which we see here and which benefits refugees.

02:40 The Rogochowski family has been vocal about the situation of migrants on the Polish-Belorussian

02:44 border and responded to it by, for example, offering accommodation to those people on

02:50 the move as well. Matyena Chodovnik for Euronews from Warsaw.

02:53 soon.

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