Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Barcelona held a charity market to benefit Ukraine, raising €7,840. The funds will go to the San Juan de Dios "Emergency in Ukraine" campaign, coordinated by Juan Ciudad NGO, and intended to help refugees fleeing the war from the Brothers of San Juan de Dios Social Assistance Station in the Ukrainian city of Drohobich, near Lviv.
From this social center, and in collaboration with the parish of St. Bartłomiej and other organizations such as Caritas, the Brothers distribute food for adults and children, hygiene and sanitary products, and offer support and advice on the difficult journey faced by the refugees, who are mostly women, young people, children, and infants. The needs are numerous and daily, and to date the Brothers in Drohobich have already provided assistance to more than 10,000 people, in addition to supporting two orphanages in the area.
For this reason, initiatives such as the charity market held at SJD Barcelona Hospital on June 20 and 21 are extremely important, as they will allow more people to continue benefiting from humanitarian aid in Ukraine, where peace seems unlikely to return for now.
The organization of this charity event was led by Lucía Guzmán, a volunteer with the Order since 2015 who currently handles fundraising and donations for International Cooperation. Her connection with the institution dates back to 1977, when she began working at the SJD Barcelona Hospital. "Thanks to the close relationship I maintained over those years with some of the Brothers, I lived, learned, and embraced the values and charism of Saint John of God," explains Lucía.
For her, "the example of charity and hospitality in service to those in need has been a guide, and I feel very fortunate to be able to collaborate on this great project of the Hospitaller Family that follows the path pioneered by Saint John of God," says this volunteer.
From Juan Ciudad NGO, we would like to thank everyone who made this market possible and collaborated with the campaign.
