More than two million people have fled from Ukraine to neighboring Poland since the start of the Russian invasion. In Dorohusk, a small Polish village next to the border, locals have been doing everything to support newly arrived refugees.
There is a retiree and a nurse, a post officer worker, and a former municipal employee... For over a month, many of the 600 inhabitants of Dorohusk have offered their skills, time and homes to welcome Ukrainian refugees who escaped the Russian invasion. The Polish village sits right near the border with Ukraine. It's the kind of place where everyone seems to know one another.
Cultural center turned into refugee reception facility
After Russia began its invasion of Ukraine a month ago, the local cultural center was turned into a reception center.
A few gazebos have been set outside the large white building in the middle of the countryside. Volunteers are handing out essential goods and meals for everyone in need. Seated on benches during a rare break, a nurse chats with the police watching over the area while two girls continue to sort through the names of the guests, translating them from the Cyrillic alphabet.
A cafeteria has been set up inside the center in a room that used to host cultural events. A night area with about a dozen cots that can host refugees for at least a few days has also been created at the center.
The head of the cultural center, Renata Lalik, says that while "the flow of people has slowed... many people continue to arrive."
The stories of Ukrainian refugees at the center
Tatiana, 44, is from Kiev. She fled with her mother Stefania and their chihuahua. "We are half Jewish and we are trying to reach Israel," the woman says as she tries to calm her barking dog. "Two of my daughters are already there. One of them, the elder one, has just enlisted in the army."
She picks up her phone and scrolls through photos, proudly showing off a picture of her older daughter in her uniform. "I am very proud of her," she says, kissing the screen of her cellphone.
Outside of the center, a telephone company has set up a small wooden shed. A young couple gets a SIM card there, which are available for free in almost all reception centers in Poland. They thank the people working at the shed and head inside the center, to get something to eat.
In red gazebos, two young volunteers put the last aid packages together and say goodbye -- with a satisfied smile on their lips, happy to have helped.
"In the end, we have not done anything unusual, " says mayor Wojtek Sawa. "We did what a border city knows best: Welcoming people."