IMAGINE LIVING WITH THE FEAR OF BOMBING, AIR RAIDS, AND ROCKET ATTACKS EVERY DAY.

NFL’S VANCE MCDONALD TO SERVE AS CONVOY OF HOPE AMBASSADOR

Millions of Ukrainians have endured that fear for more than a year. The work that Convoy of Hope is doing in Ukraine and surrounding countries is helping to make life just a little more normal. To date, more than 33 million meals and emergency supplies have been provided — valued at $60 million.

Since the war began in February 2022, it has inflicted massive damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure. Beyond the destruction of many homes, entire communities have no power or heat. In Kyiv and other major cities, rolling blackouts can last 24 to 48 hours.

“A friend and her elderly mother live on the 22nd floor of their apartment,” said Convoy of Hope partner Joel C. “When they’re without power, it’s very hard to climb back up.” continued on p. 12

A year into the war, an estimated 8 million Ukrainian refugees have fled across Europe, and 5.4 million are internally displaced within Ukraine. Many businesses have closed. Ukrainians fortunate enough to be employed face currency devaluation, purchasing less with the same amount of money. About 80% of people in Ukraine are on the edge of poverty.

Scan

Men cannot leave the country, since they are required to defend their homeland. Women who have fled don’t know when they can come back. This creates countless breaks in family units.

Convoy of Hope has been working to help the people of Ukraine since the war began and has provided more than 400 truckloads worth of food, hygiene supplies, winter clothing, generators, and other essentials. (See “On the Map,” pp. 16-17.) That relief effort relies on some 350 distribution points across the nation.

Initially, many resources were flown in or purchased in Europe and trucked into Ukraine from a warehouse in Poland. With a warehouse now in Ukraine, relief has been accelerated.

“It’s a lot easier to send out multiple trucks from here than it is picking all the routes and all the destinations all the way from Poland,” said Andre, a partner in Ukraine.

Major loads reach partnering community centers, which are usually local churches. Volunteers fill minivans and small buses to bring relief to outlying areas. The risks are real. Volunteers making those deliveries wear helmets and flak jackets. A mine detonated about 20 feet from one man running a route recently. Because it was pointed away from him, only a few of the ball bearings in its blast hit his back and legs.

“He was grateful to be alive,” Joel said.

The war’s front line has ebbed and flowed, and Convoy’s partners use windows of opportunity to serve people living on that edge. Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, for example, has been the target of recent bombings.

“We were bringing food to about 5,000 to 6,000 people in Bakhmut, including many children,” said Alex, a local relief coordinator. “All were living in basements or underground shelters — extended family all living together. The biggest problem is a lack of water. If there is water in a puddle, people collect it off the ground.”

Convoy was able to send food and resources to Bakhmut, including filters to make the groundwater drinkable. In communities where distribution sites can be organized safely, usually at local churches, people line up to gratefully accept Convoy’s aid.

“People initially come to the church looking for physical aid, such as food,” Joel said. “But as they get to know the volunteers and pastors, they find encouragement and hope.”