April 12
7 teams in Ukraine
50,000+ people fed weekly
22,818 evacuations to date (5,958 people this week)
This drawing was given to one of our team leaders to maintain hope and share with the troops; it reads, “So that the war ends in a week.”
Ukraine Teams Milestones
Andriy evacuated 2,904 people this week.
Pavel’s team evacuated 2,056 people this week from the most dangerous zones of Southern and Eastern Ukraine.
The Dnipro caravans (Karina’s teams) evacuated 790 people from Izyum, Kramatorsk, Berdyansk, and the Mariupol area.
Natasha and Kseniia pushed aid into zones of complete destruction and atrocity. Bucha, Irpin’, Hostomel’, Borodyanka, and other cities are charred and hollowed from incessant shelling and their civilians are desperate for help.
Natasha received the official registration for her volunteer organization in Kyiv: Vyshnya Volunteer Center. This will allow us to draw on official Ukrainian government humanitarian aid more effectively.
Kseniia was decorated with the medal of “Esteem, Honor, and Courage.”
Dina is increasing humanitarian deliveries to Kharkiv by 100% in the coming week, as the city is being bombed nonstop and aid shipments from the West are not keeping up with demand on the ground.
In the past two days, Karina and her large volunteer group established and outfitted a refugee center for hundreds of people. The superhuman effort from many people to create this center in less than two days was extraordinary.
As Kseniia and Natasha drove through newly liberated villages and cities, they found warnings like this: “MINE.”
US Teams Update
Our US team had its first press release this week. We are working to raise awareness of our mission and the extraordinarily critical work that our teams in Ukraine do daily.
Please listen to this NPR story about our new team member Gene Litvin’s journey to bring aid to the Ukrainian border.
Spotlight on Kseniia
Last week, Kseniia was one of the first volunteers to push into the newly liberated areas with trucks of aid. Ukrainian civilians had believed that the attackers would not shoot at peaceful civilians, but most fences that had the word “children” on them had been shot through.
People’s spirits were not broken. Kseniia’s friend, who had been sheltering for weeks in a basement in Bucha, asked her for medicine for the elderly and food for the children and babies. He did not accept any help for himself, and told her he had everything he needed.
The once familiar has become unrecognizable. In Borodyanka, nearly every house has been destroyed. To get to the village from Hostomel’, Kseniia’s team had to drive through forest since the bridges had been bombed. The troops warned her to “look under her feet”, because the whole forest had been mined. With rainy weather, her teams were stuck in the forest, wondering how they would ever get out.
In Borodyanka all of the aid was distributed in no time as hungry people surrounded Kseniia’s truck. At some point, Kseniia asked a child where the bathroom was located, and the child told Kseniia she could bring her to bushes that had not been mined. In Vorzel’, Ukrainian civilians clean up trash – MREs the enemy left behind. Trees lining sidewalks and in the forests are charred, fallen from the impact of bombings, and chopped down by Russian troops.
Although, in Kseniia’s words, her heart was broken into thousands of pieces, there is so much need everywhere, that Kseniia plans the next route.
On Thursday Kseniia was decorated with the medal of “Esteem, Honor, and Courage.”
How to Help
Donate - The money goes directly to teams providing aid on the ground, who respond dynamically to the most urgent needs.
Fundraise - Organize fundraisers at your school, work, place of worship, with friends and family, etc.
Spread the word - Share our website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn with your friends, family, and colleagues.
Download and print our flyer. Ask your local coffee shop if you can add it to the bulletin, or use it as part of your fundraiser.
