Ukrainian Refugee Situation Update
I’ve been debating what to do about this topic. I’ve not wanted to make the whole blog about this ongoing situation - yet my sis says I need to keep in front of people - or they will think “Oh, it’s done.”
So, let me handle it this way.
Every day at the top of the blog post I will put a picture related to some activity related to the Refugee Crisis/humanitarian work that we are doing or that is going on here or in Ukraine. This is to help you aware that things are happening.
However, it does get “old” to have the blog post be about it day in and day out. So, while I am taking this seriously, I know that most of us can only handle so much of it before we don’t want to read anymore.
However, today’s blog post will be a bit more extensive.
Have you ever thought about dropping an eye dropper of blue liquid food color into a bowl of water? What happens? Well, at first, the blue food color is in one place - right where you dropped it. Then, it begins to diffuse, or spread - until it eventually fills the jar of water and it all becomes blue. If you don’t stir it, it takes a bit longer than if you do. It’s a basic scientific principle.
A Polish lady who is collecting for 2 groups- a group of 10 and another of 4. We gave them a set of pots and pans, a heater, some diapers, and other necessaries.
It’s similar to what’s happening here in Poland. At first Ukrainians were primarily in a few places - the numbers were relatively small and concentrated with friends and friends of friends. The requests for help were mostly about beds and mattresses. I had to scour Facebook posts and groups for things we could help with.
However, throughout the week, things have been happening with some speed. Many, many Ukrainians are now in Poland - on Saturday it was 700,000 already here in Poland. Now we are seeing them everywhere we go - in the grocery stores, in McDonalds, walking the sidewalks with their children. A lady I met through this said at first it tends to be the more wealthy ones who came - the ones with relatives or friends here in Poland or other countries - but the next wave will probably be the poorer ones. The more desperate ones. I’m sure there are desperate ones already in the first group, though.
At the same time, the situation in Ukraine has gotten desperate. Let me share with you a prayer letter a translator Mike, my husband, has worked with in Kiev, wrote. She’s now in Germany. The letter was even longer, but this part describes life for them.
PLEASE READ AND SHARE so that others will pray.
(Day #9 of the war)
I don’t know what day of the week it is, I don’t know what date, and if I ask someone, I immediately forget. The countdown of life is now tallied according to the days of war. Consciousness is hazy.
On the first of March, I was packing my sister's bags to help her leave with her child when the phone rang. I heard the tear-filled voice of my pastor: "You and the other young girls of our church must urgently leave the country." I started to become hysterical. Earlier, I had firmly decided not to do this to myself. But my mother began to beg and cry for me to leave the country. I do not remember what was around, I only remember that I was suffocating. Mom held her heart and cried. An hour later we were on the road. Tears flowed non-stop...
Now I am a refugee.
It seemed to me that the world had turned into a big Titanic: some had to stay on a sinking ship, and some had to get into boats and sail into the unknown. During my final days in my city there was less and less food - empty store shelves and closed pharmacies. During the day there were a lot of people in the streets - people began to move from big cities to small ones such as ours where they don’t shoot - or at least shoot less.
In the daytime, they searched for food and prepared shelters for the night. Everywhere you could see people laden down with mattresses, folding beds, big bags. Men prepare defense- spikes, anti-tank structures, to be placed near the checkpoints at the entrance to the city. Women work to take food, clothes, thermoses, and other supplies to the soldiers who guard these checkpoints.
At night, almost no one sleeps. This is due to the sirens which constantly call us down into the basements and bomb shelters. Many people get sick from the night cold in these cellars. After sunset, it is forbidden to turn on the light. The city lights are off as well. With each new day, people become like unconscious bodies.
I was worried that there might not be food, so I tried to eat less. The truth is, I didn't want to eat. When we fled our city, we left as many supplies as possible for our parents, taking only a small share of food for ourselves. Two days on the road with almost no sleep. The first hours we did not see a single gas station that sold fuel. Almost all of them were closed - fuel, as well as medicines, have been transferred to the fighters and the victims.
After only six days of war, the sound of the air raid sirens has been hammered into our consciousness so strongly that all three of us women in the car have moments when we imagine we hear its wail once again.
There was a buzz in my head. Our faces were covered with sores from tears. We sat silent and took turns crying. From time to time, tears turned into sobs.
Our bodies are now in another country, but our souls and hearts remain in Ukraine. The reality is this: a lot of people have evacuated. Even those who initially make a firm decision not to leave, after a day or two decide to leave the country. Men are not allowed out, women are drowning in tears, torn between the desire to save their children and stay near their husbands, whom they may not see tomorrow.
THE COUNTRY. More and more cities are being bombed every day. Just a couple of days ago, civilians rarely suffered, but now they bomb houses every day, they shoot at cars with families, they attack buses, schools, hospitals, even cars evacuating animals ... in a word, everyone.
Today the entire world heard about the shelled nuclear power plant... Many are being dug out of the rubble, trapped in their basements.
There has been no shooting in my city yet, but a young mother with a two-year-old son was evacuated with me. They had spent every night in the basement until a bomb exploded nearby. Windows were broken in their apartment building. Airplanes, helicopters, rockets were flying above... Their town was 18 km from us.
MEDIA. Yesterday I suddenly realized that the truth about the war is being distorted not only in the Russian Federation. It is clear that each country serves it in its own "sauce", including the USA and in Europe.
The same can be said about Ukraine itself. The attack of fake news is so bloodthirsty that sometimes the information war seems stronger than the physical one. The struggle is not for the body or the earth, but for the mind and consciousness -- for the heart.
OPINIONS. I'm tired of trying to convince someone. Every day I receive letters in which I hear reproaches and accusations, distrust and cynicism on the part of Russians. And every day I see aggression, hysteria and graveyard fear on the part of Ukrainians. Anger is so thick in the air that people cease to be people.
CHURCH. I am constantly in touch with those who remain back home. People are no longer in control of their emotions. Lack of sleep and other necessities, each announcement that someone else is leaving the country - this all tears people and their inner world apart. It threatens their fellowship with God and their faith. Satan takes advantage of such opportunities to divide people, even those in the same church. Some who remain behind consider those who left traitors.
GOD. I have experienced one particular aspect of the Lord's character many times in my life. He often likes to exaggerate, bring to the edge of the abyss, allow us to fall into a fiery furnace or be thrown into a lion's den, so that He might later save and shine in the dark, open his wings, enter into that fiery furnace, and extract from the lion's den!
And He does all this in order that He may become famous!
I believe that God will be glorified!
"Didn't I tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" (John 11:40)
End of the part of the letter I copied - There was more - but I stopped there..
This is what we’ve been doing on this end.
Taking things to the fire station - they distribute things where they are needed - either locally or to trucks heading to Ukraine today or tomorrow!
Early in the week we went to a building supplies store and bought things like trash bags, extension cords, tarps, and flashlights and batteries. Lots of them.
We took these particular goodies over to the training center for the firemen where we had a meeting with an engineer - and also where we agreed to buy a total of 10 medical kits for fire trucks for first responders in Ukraine.
- We (YOU) are providing 10 medical kits for 10 fire trucks for Ukraine - each one costs over $1100. These supplies will make it possible for first responders to even do operations on the field.
Helping directly with people who I’ve found on line -
taking food -
bedding supplies for 10 people -
More food and a lot of bedding. I’m making sets of the duvet, cover, pillow and case, and a blanket. This week Lidl had a special price and delivery on Thursday of them so I went to all 4 Lidl stores that are near us now and bought 5 or 6 at each one. I got going shortly after 6 am when the stores open. I was thinking if I waited, they would be gone as they don’t stock a lot of these kinds of ‘big items’.
I wasn’t the only one. The first one I went into, another lady was getting one - just a tad bit bigger size than the ones I was getting. She asked me if I was getting them for the refugees. I said, “Yes”. She then said she was too, and “Isn’t it awful what is happening?” That was my first store, though - no time to chat. And it is extremely unusual for Polish people to chat to strangers in the store!
One of the young moms with a couple of her kids.
I know what a lot of people want are photos of these people. The problem is, there are many (Poles) who feel like it is violating their privacy. I’ll try to be careful with what I show you.
At the same time, I know that many of you really want to feel like you are helping and with pictures it is the easiest way to get an idea of how you are helping. Connecting with people is what makes it feel worthwhile.
So if you happen to get pictures that look like the one below - don’t feel bad - that’s usually what happens here in Europe. They don’t like showing pictures of people that much. Makes sometimes for a bit of a ‘dry post’. But that’s life.
Waiting for kids from an orphanage to get it. They did. About 100 are here.
However, I’m mostly featuring what we have been doing, or Polish people who are helping with the work.
So far we’ve been given about 50K to use in this effort. The requests are really just beginning in earnest - I mean - LOTs and Lots of needs are being talked about. The day this blog post is going live, I’m planning on taking trash bags, dishwashing detergent, and washing machine detergent to a place that currently has 100 children - in Otwock - the town where our foundation is based - about 2 miles from our house.
Another place has 250 people and needs all kinds of things like bedding and such.
I’ve had lots and lots of packages to open. I’ll be buying round 2 now. I ordered a lot of things on line - from our local on line auction site.
So now you know. We hope the medical kits will arrive this week - I’ll show pictures when I can. We haven’t paid for them yet - won’t do that til they get here. :) They are coming directly from the producer - no middle man for that. The man we went through also orders for all the Warsaw area fire stations, if I remember right.
The one family we bought the bedding for - here are some other things we got for them - it’s actually more than one family - but they are all together in one small place -
When I took a lot of stuff to the fire station to be unloaded, they took it out of the car in a flash - almost before I could get photos - and will help direct things to the best place. These are volunteers or paid employees- not sure which - but I think volunteers. The stuff they carried was that medical stuff, ladies’ hygiene stuff and diapers. This was mostly bought on line and when I did that, I bought a lot at once. As I write, I’ve got a box of 50 flashlights waiting for me to pick up at the package place.
Do these pictures help give you an idea of what’s happening? I hope so.
What I didn’t mention was getting an urgent message from a lady from Ukraine whose sister just came over here - and saying to me, “Becky, please help - my sis and her husband have no money - they are penniless - he needs a job. They’ve just arrived in Warsaw from Ukraine.” We know her, as she used to live here and help us. I shared this with my husband. He thought about it for a bit and then made a phone call and found him a potential job. :) Yeah!
Also…we have some refugees here now with us - at the church buidling But you know…this post is getting long enough!
Some of the things I am buying will be sent to Ukraine to help with relief. If you read the letter above, the store shelves in some areas are empty. Bare. Yesterday at church we had two couples visiting - the men were both with them - they are driving a huge van - to be filled up with goods and taken back to Ukraine for survival. Things like bread, pasta and rice. Basics. REAL basic. If any of you complain today about your Starbucks coffee being not quite right, just consider those who today (yes, today!) are hungry because the stores are empty. Just keep that in mind. Please?
Other things, as needed, will be used right here for the local people who have arrived. I think as more refugees come - more will be used right here. There are countries all over Europe sending relief to the border - I mean - countries, UK, France, Germany, etc. They aren’t sending any to our little town, however. We’ll do our best to help where it is most needed!
A grocery store in western Ukraine. Bila Tserkva
Thanks again - everyone who has helped. It’s been an emotional week for me. It’s been hard to hear about the needs and the bombings and the tragedies. I can only do what I can do. Later this week I’ll show you more about charity quilts I’m back to working on. This is long enough for today!
If you wanted to help with this effort - we will be using it to help others. The needs are great. Many people have left everything they have and escaped with their lives and a few things in a car or a piece of luggage.
Nothing will stay in our own pockets. The button is here, shown below. We appreciate so much all of you who have helped already. You all have been so compassionate. Thank you!
Thanks so much for being here and reading! It’s another heavy post. I can only handle so much before I have to quit reading and thinking about it. I then have to go do something to help.
Be sure to check out what my sis has for you in the store here!
Here’s one of the beauties we have!
