During the shelling on September 6, 2024, Iryna Borysenko, an employee of Caritas-Spes in Pavlohrad and a parishioner of St. Archangel Michael's parish, was injured.
On that day, five ballistic missiles were fired at Pavlohrad, injuring 30 people, including two children. The event was reported by colleagues on the Facebook page of the Religious Mission. Its president, Fr. Viacheslav Hrynevych, commented on the situation for CREDO.
“Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Caritas-Spes Religious Mission has been very active in humanitarian response, helping people in need. Our teams are located quite close to the frontline, because Caritas-Spes offices there are not the kind of missions that come and go.
Those teams consist primarily of local residents and parishioners who have joined Caritas and are united in helping those in worse circumstances.
One of these teams is from Pavlohrad, a city in the Dnipro region that is “on the edge” of the front line. This team is also part of the Emergency Appeal, a rapid response project: they provide people with evacuation assistance, humanitarian aid, cash payments, etc. The team comprises 11 employees, and among them is Iryna, an employee of the Pavlohrad office, our social worker.
During the massive shelling on Friday, September 6, one of the missiles hit the yard of the house where Iryna lives.
According to her, although she remembers the shelling clearly, she does not know what exactly happened to her. Maybe it was a blast wave hitting the table or the wall. When she woke up, she was in a lot of pain. Iryna was taken to the hospital, where they did a quick examination and told her that she had three broken ribs and bruising and that she could be treated at home because the hospital was overloaded.
Iryna told me how many people were in the hospital.
“Today (Sunday, September 8 - Ed.) I spoke to her. She is at home, feeling rather unwell, and it is very difficult for her to move. Nevertheless, she is grateful to God that she survived, for she realizes how many victims there were...
We immediately informed Caritas Internationalis, our international network, for such news must be announced, and received words of support from the Secretary General of Caritas Europe, Caritas Internationalis and our other partners who sympathize with us and see our courage, courage of our people who stay in dangerous areas to help those around them. This is the face of the Compassionate Love that Caritas-Spes is supposed to bring to the world.
“Iryna is a sensitive and caring social worker, and our beneficiaries leave only the best feedback about her,” the Caritas-Spes Ukraine Facebook page says. ”We are deeply saddened by the news of our colleague's injury during the enemy shelling. We keep in touch with her and offer her rehabilitation in one of our centers.”