Four Months On

Ukraine appeal & response update

Hungarian Baptist Aid supplies arrive. (baptistworld.org)

Today marks 125 days - just more than 4 months - since Russian troops invaded Ukraine, and the destruction, casualties, and horror have not ceased. The Ukrainian people have gathered in force, receiving military aid, and holding out far longer than most global experts anticipated.  Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis has grown, overflowing Ukraine’s borders into the surrounding nations that are welcoming and tending to millions of refugees, even as millions more internally displaced persons remain in country. The repercussions will be felt for years, and while relief supplies and aid have been immediate, the ripple effects and response will be long-lasting. ​

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Irina & her children, in a Batiovo shelter, formerly an elementary school. (Daniel Fekete, HIA / ACT)

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has responded, and will continue to serve for as long as needed. Week of Compassion and ecumenical partners focused emergent aid on the immediate needs of refugees, providing shelter, food, medical and psychosocial care, education, and vocational resources. Over the next months and years, that assistance will continue as some evacuees choose to return home when they are able, and others resettle more permanently into new locations and lives. 

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In You, O Lord, have I taken refuge:  Let me never be put to shame. In Your righteousness, deliver me. - Ps31:2

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food parcel Easter baskets in Ukraine during Orthodox Holy Week (iocc.org)

In just four months, Week of Compassion has received gifts totalling $1.7 million. Working alongside global partners, Disciples are serving with:~ ACT Alliance - Ukraine, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Slovakia; transition centers at borders, housing, food packets, social services
~ Baptist World Alliance - Ukraine, Poland; churches as safe haves and sanctuaries, emergency shelters and transitional centers into stable accommodation
~ Global Ministries - Greece - apartments, utilities for refugee families; Hungary - support for churches caring for internally displaced persons
~ International Orthodox Christian Charities - Poland, Romania, Ukraine - food, water, clothing, shelter to IDPs; special focus on women & children, safety from gender based violence
~ L’Arche - online connections for separated families, medicine & hygiene supplies, adaptation and disability support needs

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L’Arche Lviv Community Lviv (larche.org)

Support for the long-term recovery ahead can be directed through the Week of Compassion giving page, designated ‘Ukraine’. More information about refugee response and preparing your congregation to serve any of the thousands of families already in the resettlement process, as well as those to come, can be found on the Week of Compassion Refugee and Immigrant Response page.

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