Continuing to Bridge Borders: UKRAINE
Last week we provided insight into the ways we are helping Ukrainian Refugees in Poland and how you can help bridge borders and bring hope. This week’s focus is on our continued efforts inside Ukraine to help those in need.
UKRAINE
Almost 3 years after Russia’s invasion, the war in Ukraine rages on. Only a few weeks ago, our Ukrainian friend and translator, Dima, described the devastating impact of the almost nightly drone attacks ongoing in Kyiv:
Missile alerts scream to life on their phones, often in the early morning hours of 2:00-3:00am. This is followed by city wide alarms that wail like an ambulance, urging citizens to quickly run to basement shelters or other cover.
Parents pull their children from their beds, cradling them close.
The elderly move as quickly as their bodies allow.
A neighbor’s cat meows in the ruckus.
And there they remain, huddled together, for 1 hour, 2 hours, sometimes longer – until the all clear sound is given.
“It’s difficult.”, Dima says, “It’s intentional. The sleep disruption, night after night. For years now.”.
The body, the mind, and the spirit remain in a constant state of heightened awareness, never truly able to relax – locked in the fight mode of ‘fight or flight’. An entire population worn down by the unrelenting war.
And yet. Despite the exhaustion, the indelible Ukrainian spirit presses on.
What is the current volunteer effort to provide aid to Ukrainians?
Like our partner in Poland, many aid organizations in Ukraine, including our partner The Ukrainian Dream (TUD) in Lutsk, Ukraine, have been forced to pare down aid services as volunteers, supplies, and funding dwindle.
TUD once occupied 3 floors of a commercial building, but now only utilize 2 rooms for aid. Despite this reduction, TUD continues a primary program of support: hand packing Meals Ready to Eat (MREs).
Costing only $6.00, each MRE provides 1.5 days of nonperishable food for 1 person. Volunteers like our 70+year old friend, Grandpa Volyn, make weekly trips across the landscape to deliver meals to soldiers, medics, and volunteers throughout the battle grounds of Ukraine.
And the best part, as of September 2024, this woman-led organization (comprised 100% of volunteers), has hand packed over 53,300 meals since the war started in 2022!!! That’s over 53,300 individuals who have received high-quality food, and, many of you reading this, helped contribute to that number!
with some of the incredible TUD volunteers
What can you do to impact the current situation in Ukraine?
Join us in our continued support of the TUD and let’s keep feeding people:
$50.00 – feeds 8 people for 1.5 days
$250.00 - feeds 41 people 1.5 days
$500.00 - feeds 82 people for 1.5 days
Together, we are bridging borders and bringing hope!
