July 8-15, 2023

Fastiv, 8.07-15.07.23

Praised be Jesus Christ!

A difficult and stressful week is behind us, the first half of which we spent in Kherson – delivering beds and blankets, meeting and communicating with people who suffered from the Kakhovka disaster, in the villages of Poniativka, Sadove, Zimivnyk, Antonivka and Inhulets. In particular, there is no electricity in Poniativka to this day. We brought to people power banks, medicine and flashlights. The situation in Kherson itself is very tense, many people have been injured as a result of shelling and there are also dead. This week, our social kitchen gave out 4,242 meals for victims, people with limited mobility and rescuers. We thank everyone who supports us, only together we can stand!

Our volunteers brought roofing material to the village Zavody in the Izyum district, and we continue to repair houses. We are restoring 6 family homes in this village.

We end this week in Berdychiv, entrusting our defenders and our country to the Blessed Virgin Mary, we are confident that the Mother of God cares for us and intercedes.

We miss our volunteer Denys, we pray for his mother Elena and we believe with all our hearts that Christ has conquered death, that there are many dwellings in the Father’s house and that we will meet him in the Kingdom of our Father. At the request of Elena, funeral rites and farewell will be held on July 16 at 12:30 in our Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

We thank the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland, Mr. Mateusz Morawiecki, the Office of the Prime Minister and the Agency for Strategic Reserves for the generous assistance provided to the victims of the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP. We thank the community of lay Dominicans from Zwolle, who support us with donations for humanitarian missions. We thank Mr. Oleg Ovechka for instant soup sets for the social kitchen and for the medicine and grocery sets for the long-suffering Kherson region. Your help is very important and necessary for us.

This week, we have provided support for forcibly displaced families living in Fastiv and to the soldiers’ families. 1,500 food packages of targeted aid were given to those in need – a total of 14,130 kg of humanitarian aid.

I remind you that the humanitarian action to collect donations and small household appliances (refrigerators, kettles, microwave ovens, washing machines, tables, chairs, building materials) for the flooded villages of the Kherson region continues. Thank you, everyone who stand in solidarity with us through prayer, financial support and volunteering time. All these efforts are extremely important to support those who are weaker on a daily basis.

I am going on a pilgrimage on foot now and I will carry you in prayerful memory to the image of the Mother of God in Berdychiv.

With prayers

Fr. Mykhailo Romaniv OP