“9 shells landed on our site, 4 did not explode. And when the latter fell about six meters from the basement where we were hiding, we decided not to tempt fate.”
The full-scale war in Ukraine has been going on for the fourth year. In many regions of the country, infrastructure has been destroyed by Russian missiles and shells, and there is no electricity, heating, or water in houses. Thousands of Ukrainian families who had to flee from russia’s armed aggression live in such conditions. Having lost everything, these people are in dire need of the most necessary and simple household amenities that we often do not even notice. Because we have.
Therefore, the team of the NGO “We Can!” and the project “Mission of Goodness” from TBN UA once again set off. Thanks to our friends and partners from Sweden “Barnens Oas” we had everything we needed to effectively help internally displaced persons. Warm clothes, shoes, stoves, generators went to Ukrainian families who had to leave the hot spots of the country and the territories occupied by Russia. Our way ran to the village of Mykolaivka, Dnipropetrovsk region. Broken roads, a difficult journey, but people were waiting for us, for whom this help is like a light in the dark.
“The front line passed through our village. We lived in the basement for six months. 9 shells landed on our site, 4 did not explode. And when the latter fell about six meters from the basement where we were hiding, we decided not to tempt fate and leave. They left everything, both cows and rabbits,” the woman shares, not hiding her tears. She is one of those who received help from Swedish partners. Next to the installed new stove, her little daughter warms her hands, who is sincerely happy with both warmth and toys.
In the same way, with tears from painful memories, a gray-haired man thanks for his help. Oleksandr Viktorovych left the Bakhmut district with his wife when the war left them no other choice: “We shot hard, then we left, abandoned everything and… I can’t (turns away, hiding his tears)… There is nothing, everything has to start anew, earn, live somehow… Thank you very much for helping.”
This is not the first time we have installed stoves in the homes of people living in difficult conditions due to the war. And this time we installed a three-thousandth oven! Just imagine the scale of help from caring people from Sweden. It really warms not only the homes, but also the hearts.
The three-thousandth stove was received by the Udovenko family. Dmytro and Tetiana are an ordinary married couple from the Donetsk region, who lived a peaceful life in the Bakhmut district. They had their own home, farm, worked on the land and raised children. But in 2014, with the advent of the war, life began to collapse – not metaphorically, but literally. Fear, uncertainty, shelling. In 2017, they were forced to leave their home and start from scratch in a safer place in the same area. Tatyana was then carrying her third child under her heart.
But fate prepared a new test. In February 2022, the war invaded their lives again. Explosions, constant anxiety, children’s tears… “We sat in the basement day and night, shells exploded in the field right in front of our house, the children were very afraid, because it was really scary,” Tetiana recalls with pain. So, when a shell destroyed the house opposite, the family left everything for the second time, taking only two bags with children’s things. At that time, they already had five children.
Today, a large family lives in a small house in the village of Mykolaivka. There are minimal living conditions, but there is warmth in the hearts and hope in the eyes. The eldest daughter is already 18, and the youngest is only 3 years old. Despite the difficulties, Tetiana and Dmytro work and raise children with love and care.
Thanks to our Swedish friends from the organization “Children’s Oasis”, the family received the necessary help – warm clothes, shoes, toys, a generator, a stove. And also – materials for needlework, which have become a real source of internal resources. The generator helps children not to panic in the dark, and the new stove not only warms in the cold season, but also allows you to heat water every day. But most importantly, the family’s dream came true: to turn the summer kitchen into a bathroom. Now they will have a place where they can humanly wash, wash, dry things. A simple human dignified life.
The team of the NGO “We can!” together with TBN UA covered more than 1000 km to transfer this aid. But along with things, we passed on something more important – care, support and love. The Swedish partners extended a helping hand not with words, but with actions. They proved the principle: faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself.
By joining forces, we bring light to where darkness reigns. So that hearts do not despair. So that the light of Christ touches souls. After all, light is stronger than darkness. Always.
“Mission of Goodness” is a joint project of the NGO “We Can!” and the TBN UA channel, which was created to help Ukrainians in difficult times of trials. You can support the project financially at this link: Партнерство
Let’s unite together for good deeds!