Ukraine

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Children in Ukraine are being traumatized by the devastating experience of the Russian invasion, the sudden loss of their homes and relatives and loved ones and familiar surroundings, the separation from their fathers, the hardships of traveling deprived of water, food, sleep, comfort; freezing temperatures, frightening loud noises, day after day as they travel toward safety with so many other strangers toward unknown destinations and future uncertainty. Their losses will be permanent.  Their homes and towns will probably be destroyed. They may never see their fathers again.  Family members, relatives and friends who stayed behind may not be there if they are ever able to return. The trauma of this experience will scar each child permanently. There is nothing we can do to prevent this. But what we can do is help them get through this experience by helping the volunteers who are providing them with their needs to get through each day to a safe place where they can live until this situation settles down.  The number of families exiting Ukraine is overwhelming the resources in the surrounding countries in spite of all of the organizations helping and the contributions flowing in. We are in direct contact with our Ukrainian colleagues on the ground so we have a first-hand account of where we can provide support to the volunteer programs which are not being supported by the larger donors. Our first support will be going to a small town in Romania called Calafindesti in the region of Sucheava on the Ukrainian border. When the exodus started, the people in this town stepped up and volunteered to help the refugees passing through in any way they could. This movement was coordinated by Father John, the priest of the church Biserica Ortodoxa “Nasterea Maicii Domnului.”  The church and the townspeople started with their own resources to feed the refugees, invite them to their houses, help them get clothes, medicine, diapers, whatever they needed. The town has become a kind of voluntary Transit Station, where the refugees may stay for one, two or several nights, but longer if necessary, so that they can make arrangements to move on to their next stop. Some people have relatives in other countries who will receive them; some will enter other programs which will find them available locations in other countries and which have the financial resources to send them there.  We are supporting the existing Transit Station program of this Romanian church which is managed by Father John. We learned of this program from a trusted Ukrainian family who went through this town as refugees. We are in direct contact with Father John and trust his careful use of donations. The average daily number of refugees he cares for is 80-100 which consists mainly of mothers and their children. However, the number fluctuates daily. The back-up at the border checkpoint from Ukraine increases every day.  Our commitment is to send donations to Father John who will distribute the funds as they are needed each day according to the number of refugees. Since he cannot predict a fixed number per day, we aim to make sure that he always has enough financial resources to obtain the supplies he needs for all of the families he is helping pass through his town. We are reaching out to everyone who wants to help him and the townspeople continue providing support indefinitely to these families.  Foundation for Our Children will be supporting small specific programs for Ukrainian refugee families which are not supported by the larger aid programs. We are in direct contact with the people who manage these programs. (Followed by pictures of the church, Father John and some refugee families. 

Also we asked for a short video of him and the refugees.)