From Sirens to Seagulls: Portugal’s Three-Week Retreat for Ukrainian Families

The arrival felt discreet, almost routine, yet the story reverberates far beyond the terminal corridors. In the early hours of last week, a small group of Ukrainian women and children stepped onto Portuguese soil for a three-week stay that aims to replace the sound of sirens with seagulls — at least for a while.

First Glance, Big Stakes

• Lisbon Airport welcomed 15 mothers and 18 children related to soldiers killed or missing in action.

• Local NGO HelpUA.PT organised the mission with backing from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

• A three-week stay blends psychological therapy, cultural immersion, and quiet rest across Lisbon, Fátima and Ourém.

• Portugal’s government calls the initiative a “model of civil-society leadership.”

Three Weeks to Breathe: What the Programme Offers

The itinerary is carefully calibrated. Morning sessions of trauma-informed counselling, led by bilingual psychologists, are followed by afternoons in museums, botanical gardens or the Atlantic shoreline. A mid-programme retreat at the FenixUAPT Rehabilitation Centre in Ourém allows the youngest visitors to paint, play football and — crucially — talk about life outside a conflict zone. Evenings end with family-style dinners hosted by Portuguese volunteers, introducing flavours from bacalhau com natas to pastéis de nata. Organisers stress that such ordinary rituals form the backbone of the project’s “experience of normality.”

Why Civil Society Stepped In

HelpUA.PT sprang up in 2022 when the first refugee buses reached Portugal. Since then the association has built a warehouse in Marvila, launched the PlexHelp digital platform, and secured a FAMI grant to cover housing and legal support. Its founder, Kyiv-born entrepreneur Olena Karpenko, says the latest programme reflects a simple observation: “Children remember explosions more vividly than birthdays.” Partnerships with the Ministry of Justice, local councils in Cascais and Sintra, and dozens of small businesses allow the NGO to move faster than state bureaucracy alone.

Portugal’s Broader Commitment to Ukrainians

Lisbon has granted more than 59 000 temporary-protection permits since 2022 and recently joined EU partners in extending that status until March 2026. Under the fast-track regime, newcomers receive an NIF, NISS and a SNS health number within days — a process some larger EU economies still struggle to match. The government has also funded Portuguese-language classes, while schools accommodate about 4 500 Ukrainian pupils alongside remote Ukrainian curricula.

Mental-Health Frontline: Experts Weigh In

Clinicians warn that war trauma rarely disappears on holiday. The Order of Portuguese Psychologists maintains a roster of Ukrainian-speaking therapists, and the SNS 24 hotline offers crisis counselling in English. Research teams at Universidade do Minho are tracking long-term outcomes and early data suggest that structured programmes combining peer support, arts therapy, and academic stability outperform ad-hoc aid. Rita Abrantes, a child psychiatrist in Porto, notes that “consistent school attendance is as therapeutic as any pill.”

Looking Ahead: Can Portugal Host 500 Families?

HelpUA.PT hopes to scale the model, aiming to reach 500 families by late 2027. The challenge is two-fold: securing affordable housing in tight urban markets and sustaining donor enthusiasm as media attention pivots elsewhere. A pilot partnership with credit-union Montepio to underwrite short-term rentals could offer one solution. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence in Kyiv is already drawing up lists for the next rotation, underscoring the programme’s symbolic weight for a nation at war.

How You Can Help From Home

Portuguese residents keen to act can:

Register spare rooms with PlexHelp.

Contribute to the FenixUAPT Centre’s equipment fund.

Volunteer for language tandem sessions in local libraries.

Support Ukrainian-owned small businesses now multiplying in Greater Lisbon.

Small gestures, organisers say, stitch into a larger tapestry of solidarity — proving that even a few quiet weeks by the Tagus can echo all the way to Dnipro.