October 15-22, 2022

Fastiv, 15-22.10.2022

Praised be Jesus Christ

This is the second time we sit down to write our report. We have no electricity at the moment.

So we end this week that began very restlessly: on Monday morning, Kyiv region and the whole of Ukraine was confused by massive rocket attacks, critical infrastructure was especially affected!

On Tuesday, we left for Kharkiv Oblast with a convoy of 5 cars and a team of 11 volunteers! The preparation of the humanitarian mission required a lot of effort from us. Many good people responded to support Kharkiv Oblast! Our sewing workshop sewed warm blankets, and our good friends from the Orlya Strazh Foundation helped to buy the rest of the blankets and pillows – we brought more than 300 warm blankets to Izyum.

Thanks to the Vicariate of the Dominican Fathers in the Netherlands, we bought more than 8000 kg of essential products! In total, we delivered more than 12,000 kg of humanitarian aid! These were also: gas cookers, free standing stoves, household chemicals, warm things, toys for children and candles, which are so important for every resident of those cities.

It is difficult for me to write about the human pain and loneliness that I saw in the areas that we visited – Kharkiv, Balaklia, Izyum, Vilkhuvatka and the village of Podsobne. Raisin is a city that was hit more than 456 rockets. The pontoon bridge was not easy even for our experienced volunteer drivers. People didn’t come for help, but ran for it… it’s hard to watch – the city of 45,000 is almost devastated: all the houses are damaged, people live in basements, in apartments that have neither electricity nor water, these crippled chipboard window openings and people behind them.. I met a woman who gave me documents and asked for help with getting a hearing aid for a child… I took the documents with me and thought how to help… You wouldn’t believe how happy people were with the bread or cookies we brought! We distributed everything we brought.. In 2 weeks we are planning the next humanitarian mission, so we ask for your support…

This week, we were able to provide assistance to the forcibly displaced people who live in Fastiv and the needy who come to our Center every day! In total, this week we distributed 2,525 grocery sets (17,900 kg).

Children’s laughter, which we heard in the shelter of our Center, where during 4 hours of anti-aircraft alarm, the children of our school celebrated their birthday, is our hope.

Thank you for the support to Kultova Ukraine, Talento, a dance goods store, the Byshiv community, Ms. Iryna Bezkrovna and friends for the warm things, Mr. Vitaly for the food products, and Father Nazariy Bilyk for the products and antiseptics.

I surround each of you with prayer,

Father Mykhailo OP