In a country still devastated by war, Ukraine’s recovery is only possible by caring for its people, especially its children and youth. This is the message that emerges from the visit concluded today by the Grand Hospitaller of the Order of Malta, Josef D. Bloz, who over the last four days has visited many different humanitarian projects supported and promoted by the Order in the area, made possible by the tireless commitment of the staff and volunteers of the Malteser Relief Service of Ukraine, in collaboration with Malteser International.

This morning, before his return, he visited the Halychyna rehabilitation centre in Lviv, where the Order supports a project providing social, psychological, medical and financial support to people who have undergone amputations. To date, more than 250 prostheses have been provided here.

Yesterday in Ivano-Frankivsk, the Grand Hospitaller met with Kristina Torhan, Deputy Head of the local Regional Military Administration, and Stepan Balahura, Episcopal Vicar of Metropolitan Archbishop of Ivano-Frankivsk of the Greek-Catholic Church.

After the two institutional meetings, he spent the day with volunteers from the Malteser Relief Service of Ukraine in Ivano-Frankivsk, inaugurating a new ambulance and observing the packaging of food for aid distribution. Here he also visited the Svitlytsia children’s centre, the flagship of activities for the development and support of young children through courses and workshops. ‘It is moving and touching to see the way you approach your work,’ Josef D. Blotz told the volunteers, ‘always with a smile, even in such difficult times.’ In this context, the Spielmobil project is also active, which has already helped over 36,000 displaced children.

The community of Ivano-Frankivsk is young and very active in the Order of Malta. Eleven of these young people have died in the conflict in recent years, and the Grand Hospitaller paid tribute to them by visiting the cemetery where they are buried and participating in a moment of prayer.

In recent days, Blotz also visited the Vorzel Children and Family Centre in Kyiv, which supports orphans and abandoned children, the Borodyanka Neuropsychological Institute, a rehabilitation centre, and the Feofaniya Hospital, where a psychosocial support programme for amputee veterans is in place. During his stay in the capital, he also held several institutional meetings with Msgr. Vitalii Kryvytskyi, Bishop of Kyiv-Zhytomir, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Olexandr Mischenko, and Deputy Minister of Social Policy Inna Solodka.

“With this mission,” commented the Grand Hospitaller, “we wanted to reaffirm our closeness to the Ukrainian people. We are deeply grateful to the Order’s humanitarian structures that work tirelessly in the field. With winter approaching, attention to the most vulnerable, especially children traumatised by the conflict, remains a top priority. The Order of Malta will continue to strengthen humanitarian cooperation with Ukraine to ensure increasingly effective and coordinated support.”