On November 19, 2022, the Evangelische Werk für Diakonie und Entwicklung with its working areas Diakonie Germany, Bread for the World and Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe received the main prize “Good Samaritan 2022” from Diakonie Poland. The award recognizes the cross-border partnership between diaconal organizations and services in Germany and Poland, which has been cultivated and grown steadily since the early 1990s.
“The close cooperation between Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe and Diakonie Poland makes it possible for refugees from Ukraine to be supported in 38 parishes and for many people in need to receive assistance in an accessible manner. Targeted humanitarian aid requires reliable and well-connected partners like the parishes of Diakonie Poland,” says Dagmar Pruin, President of Bread for the World and Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe.
“Anyone who wants to experience how effective the work of a small but well-connected diaconal church can be with expertly chosen cooperation partners and a lot of voluntary commitment will find great role models in Poland. Even if the Evangelical Church in our neighboring country only has 70,000 members, with its diakonia, it is a very vital part of Polish civil society,” says Ulrich Lilie, President of Diakonie Germany.
Diakonie Germany President Lilie aaccepted the award at a ceremony in Warsaw together with Martin Kessler, Director of Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe. In his blog, Lilie reports on the current cooperation in supporting refugees from Ukraine and describes how the work of Diakonie Poland can inspire German Diakonie.
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