Andriy could have stayed in safety. But he didn’t. Though he’d escaped the war in Ukraine, he knew he had to go back. Like many refugees who our local partners have been supporting, Andriy volunteered to keep helping people caught up in the conflict.
‘I was in Kyiv when the war started,’ remembers Andriy*. ‘The lines to get tickets on buses that day were incomprehensible.’
Andriy was concerned about getting his niece, Sofia, to safety. They were eventually able to get a lift with a local pastor and crossed the border into Slovakia. The journey was long and stressful, taking more than 40 hours.
As soon as Sofia was safe, Andriy returned to Ukraine to help others. He sent us this update from Lviv, a city in the west of the country: ‘Please pray for us, as we don’t know what to do in the near future and when we will go back to Kyiv. Big thanks to all of you for your generous financial help and for supporting us with your prayers.’
Essential supplies
‘What I saw at the border was disheartening,’ says Adrian, who works with Tearfund’s local partner in the region. ‘Very long lines of people, mostly mothers and children, shivering in the cold weather... lots of crying and despair.’
Tearfund's local partners have been working relentlessly to provide food, safe water, shelter, and trauma counselling to those fleeing conflict – both within Ukraine and in neighbouring countries, such as Poland, Romania and Slovakia. They have also been sending trucks filled with essential supplies to people still living in Ukraine.
‘There are thousands of people who are still coming [across the border] on a daily basis, and we are doing all we can to help – either by sending goods over or hosting them,’ says Adrian.
