LAS VEGAS–The leader of Poland’s credit union trade association had a blunt message for the work being done in his country by CUs and fellow citizens when it comes to the refugees of the war in Ukraine “In Poland, we are not waiting with folded arms for these bastards from Russia.”
Those were the words of Rafal Matusiak, president of the president & CEO of Poland’s trade association, the National Association of Credit and Savings Unions (NACSCU), who traveled to Las Vegas to share with credit unions an update on events in his country where credit unions have been providing extensive help to the millions of Ukrainians who have fled to Poland following Russia’s invasion, as well as an update on how funds donated to the Polish American Credit Union Support Fund are being used. The fund is also providing support to Ukrainians by purchasing ambulances, medical supplies and more.
Matusiak was in Las Vegas to speak to the Underground Collision conference hosted by Mitchell Stankovic. That company was instrumental in helping to create the fund earlier this year, along with former World Council of Credit Unions CEO Brian Branch and Bruce Foulke, president and CEO of American Heritage Credit Union in Philadelphia.
Foulke has made several trips to Poland to assess the situation, and is currently in the country this week.
A ‘Dramatic Story’
“I bring you information almost from the front line,” Matusiak said. “It’s not easy to talk about the situation in Ukraine. I came from Poland to tell you a story. It’s a dramatic story. But at the end we have an optimistic idea.”
Matusiak said Poland’s government continues to work to support the Ukrainians, who have been granted near Polish citizenship status. Health care, education and housing have been provided, with Matusiak noting there are no refugee camps in his country.
But the threat remains very real from Russia, he added, noting the country could target a nuclear power plant and spread nuclear contamination across Ukraine and even Eastern Europe.
Acting as Distribution Points
As Matusiak also expained, neither Poland’s credit unions, which have acted as distribution points for both funds and information, nor his countrymen are standing around.
“In Poland we are not waiting with folded arms for these bastards from Russia,” he said. “We have a stronger and stronger army thanks to the purchase of military equipment in the U.S., Great Britain and South Korea. We are also part of the NATO alliance, and 10,000 American soldiers are in Poland. Thank you for that, America.”
Matusiak shared how the visit by Branch and Foulke led to the creation of the Polish American Credit Union Support Fund, which is meant to support credit unions in Poland directly. He said it operates with very low administrative costs, less than $100 to date, so that 100% of funds can go directly to providing aid.
Where the Funds are Going
The fund has been providing help in several key areas, according to Matusiak, including:
- Those who sign up for the program administered by SKOKS, as credit unions in Poland are known, are paid a total of $2,000 in equal installments over a period of six months. They are required to open a credit union account to receive the funds.
- Another program is purchasing the ambulances, after working with paramedics to ensure the proper equipment. That portion of the fund also buys food and hires drivers. To date, five ambulances have been purchased, two of which are already in Ukraine, with a third to be delivered next week. Two more will go to Ukraine in the next two to three weeks, he said.
- The third program provides medical services to women using facilities and doctors associated with Poland’s credit unions.
- Funds have been used to purchase school kits for refugee children, as well as food for a center that has 93 orphans from Ukraine.
- Funds have also been used to purchase agricultural equipment for farmers associated with WOCCU’s CAP project, and more than a dozen transports of food, clothing, sleeping bags, binoculars, batteries have been made.
A Living Witness
“I am here as a living eyewitness to this project and its active participants. I am here to ask for your support because the needs are huge. The scale of the destruction is unimaginable and the reconstruction of Ukraine and the refugees in Poland will last a long time,” Matusiak said. “Thank you for the help. Without the American people this project would not exist. We are all part of the family of credit unions and what we are talking about now is perhaps the most beautiful embodiment of the principle of people helping people.”
On the second day of the Underground Collision it was announced that between individual contributions, credit union contributions and CU matches, tens of thousands of dollars more had been raised for the fund. It was also announced one company would be purchasing an ambulance.
More information on the fund can be found here.