Weekly update #2:
18th March
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Homes for Ukraine Scheme: On Monday, the UK Government announced the Homes for Ukraine scheme, whereby individuals, charities, community groups and businesses in the UK could bring Ukrainians to the UK, including those with no family ties to the UK. We are expecting Phase One of the scheme to open today, which will allow sponsors in the UK to nominate a named Ukrainian family to stay with them in their home or in a separate property.
Many Christians in the UK have contacted us with offers to host Ukrainian refugee families, and asking if EMF is intending to act to link them to named Ukrainians. We are working hard to assess whether and how we can support this in a safe and effective way, with a small UK staff. Please bear with us in this, and we will send out more information next week.
In the meantime, if you are considering acting as a host, this site provides some helpful information about the scheme, and the implications of hosting refugee families.
"These people are crushed". Vitalii Mariash is not someone given to over-statement, but this was his moving summary of the state of refugees he sees arriving in the city of Chernivtsi. This is where he and Liudmyla and their two children are staying in a cramped 2 -room apartment, in which Vitalii sleeps in a makeshift bed on top of a cupboard.
The Ukrainian authorities lay on trains to carry refugees, free of charge, from the East towards the West and South, to Ternopil, to Lviv and over into Poland; and to places like Chernivtsi. Most of the refugees are coming from the worst affected cities of Kharkiv, Sumy, Mariupol, and Kyiv (and its surrounding towns like Irpin). They come with few possessions, but harrowing tales of daily bombardment, constant threat, and tragic loss. The refugee waves ebb and flow, mainly as corridors are opened up into the besieged cities.
UNHCR estimates that nearly 3.2 million refugees have left Ukraine, 60% to Poland. The Polish and Ukrainian languages are very closely related, unlike Romanian or Hungarian, which probably explains why so many refugees choose to head in this direction.
Until last week, the West of the country was considered relatively safe, but the Russian attack on the Yavoriv military base, near the city of Lviv and near the Polish border, changed that perception. Now, daily air-raid sirens even in places such as Lviv, Ternopil and Chernivtsi, send people running to find shelter. Volodia and Oksana Kostyshyn, in Ternopil, have had to begin considering seriously how they would care for their severely-disabled son, Zechariah, if they became refugees.
The evangelical churches in Ukraine, Moldova, Poland, Romania, etc. continue to work tirelessly to support refugees - as of course do many others. The emotional and physical toll on those in the front line is a real cause for concern, and we see this in many of our missionaries, as Mihai Chisari described so eloquently last week. But in the midst of the suffering and distress, many seek the Lord earnestly and the opportunities to share the gospel with refugees abound. Please continue to pray for the witness of those in the front line.
We have continued to be astonished by the generosity of Christians in the UK, and this has touched the hearts of many we work with in Ukraine.
£436,600 has been received since the start of the appeal.
£66,900 has been disbursed since the start of the appeal.
46% to Moldova
24% to Poland
24% to Ukraine
5% to Romania
1% to Italy
We are conscious that the disbursement figure may seem low compared to the donations received. However, we are planning to begin shipments of aid supplies into Ukraine next week, including items such as generators, and we are therefore expecting to increase significantly the rate at which we are translating donations into the aid so badly needed. We are also increasing our network of churches through which are channelling support, whilst ensuring that this is used effectively by evangelical churches. In addition, we are intending to support refugee needs for the medium to long term, as much as funds allow.
Thank you to everyone who has donated. 100% of donations will be passed through to support refugee work in the region.
Our Approach is to work through our network of missionaries, their churches and sister evangelical churches to distribute support for refugees. This has proved an effective way to channel support to trusted evangelical churches. We are continuing to build up this network of evangelical churches, with our missionaries acting as local coordinators with good visibility of the current needs
Our Immediate Priority is to ensure that our partner churches who are on the front line of providing emergency support to refugees get the financial support they need. In most cases, especially outside Ukraine, they can access all the provisions they need locally, but need financial help. This includes providing transport, in a context where fuel costs are increasing dramatically, and many refugees, especially outside Ukraine, have no money for onwards travel.
But in certain areas, the need for supplies from outside Ukraine has been made known to us. We are planning to begin transporting aid supplies into western Ukraine next week, into the areas like Ternopil seeing enormous numbers of refugees. These shipments contain a mixture of food supplies, bedding, hygiene products alongside hardware such as generators and washing machines.
Spiritual Need: Alongside the great physical need, people's greatest need remains their need of salvation in Christ, and evangelical churches on the front line are asking for Bibles and other literature in Ukrainian. Krzysztof Rutkowski, who leads Legatio Publishing is working to provide literature to churches.
For more details of how we are working, to make effective use of the generous donations entrusted to us, please click here.
A Haven for Ukrainian Refugees in Pericei, Romania
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A group of orphans and their carers have been staying in the church in Pericei, Romania, where Pál and Anna Borzási, alongside their church members, are offering hospitality and care.
Exhausted refugees from Ukraine arrive recuperate in Romania.
They had travelled from war-ravaged Eastern Ukraine right across the country, and arrived exhausted, but immensely happy to be in a warm, safe home, complete with hugs, hot nourishing food, and a clean bed.
On a Sunday night, after the arrival of these precious little guests, with all the preparation that that entailed, Anna had not finished her day’s work.
She sent an urgent message asking us to pray for a very desperate elderly lady, who had travelled hundreds of miles across Ukraine, and had arrived at last in Hungary, but wasn’t allowed into Romania to be reunited with her son (a guest in the Borzási’s home/church). Many late-night phone calls were made, and at least this woman (her name is Rita) found a bed for the night.
The following day, we heard news that Grandma Rita had arrived safely in Pericei.
The very young refugees, the very old refugees … they all have tragic tales to tell. And the people who are opening wide their arms, their homes, their hearts, need care and prayer too.
To read more about this story, and other stories, please go to our EMF Ukraine Appeal section of our website.
Andrii Kaustov is a colleague of Vitalii Mariash at Kyiv Theological Seminary (KTS). The story of Andrii and his wife Yolanta is a remarkable testimony to God's grace in the midst of the crisis in Ukraine. Both Andrii and his wife are suffering from cancer, but could not get treatment in Kyiv after the war began. In a remarkable answer to prayer, Vitalii and Liudmyla, with the help of a student of KTS, helped to get Andrii and Yolanta out of Kyiv to Chernivtsi, where their treatment could resume. But Andrii is insistent that the story is not so much about him, or about cancer, but about the grace of God, and his constant presence in their lives, causing them to realise that the priority in their lives is how they may best know and serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
Read more about their story, and listen to a short interview with Andrii here.
How we can pray for those on the front line
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Pastor and EMF Missionary Volodia Kostyshyn in Ternopil, Ukraine, shares a brief update on the situation in Western Ukraine, in the city of Ternopil.
He asks us to pray:
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For Ukraine as a country to withstand the invasion
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For those who are suffering as a result of the war, and those who are without food or shelter
- For the Ukrainian authorities, trying to care for people whilst defending the country
- For Christians, especially pastors, as they seek to care for people physically, emotionally and spiritually
- For wise distribution of aid.
- For Volodia & Oksana, as they anticipate very difficult decisions, especially as they care for their 2 sons, Zechariah & Oleksij. Zechariah is severely disabled, and needs constant care and daily medication.For perseverance in showing love and care for refugees, as the unrelenting emotional and physical demands drain energy.
Phil Dunn
(EMF Northern Ireland Representative)
Martin Tatham
(EMF Church Partnership Coordinator)
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