Ekaterina* and her two young daughters fled the Donetsk region in 2022 a month after Russian forces invaded the region in March. She and her community were helping displaced neighbors from Volnovakha city, who arrived daily after fleeing Russian troops and fierce violence that overwhelmed their city.
Receiving news that the same troops were advancing and would soon reach her town, Ekaterina packed whatever she could and left with her children, her elder relatives, a brother and sister and their families. They reached Dnipro, Ukraine’s fourth largest city, west of Donetsk, not knowing what would come next.
“We were not even going to Dnipro; we were going nowhere,” Ekaterina explained. “We left late, and when we arrived [in Dnipro region], it was already curfew. We turned to the first military personnel in the village; they put us up in a hotel for free and we stayed for three days. Thank you to the residents – they welcomed us very well.”
Ekaterina found help at the center for displaced persons, supported by International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) with funding from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and run by IOCC’s local Orthodox Church partner, Eleos-Ukraine.
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At the center, she received a humanitarian kit, which included food and nonfood items, plus psychosocial and legal support services. Individual sessions with psychologists helped her learn how to better manage the stress she experienced during the war, while meetings with lawyers showed her how to get the documentation she needed to register for the state Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) support program.
Instead of moving on, Ekaterina’s family decided to resettle in Dnipro. The adults found work and rented housing, and the children entered school.
Later, Ekaterina learned that on April 1, exactly one day after they’d left, their hometown had been bombed. According to her, 600 people of the original 8,000 residents remain. Ekaterina is not sure there is anything left for her and her family in the Donetsk region. As a way of giving back, her family volunteers at the IOCC center that first welcomed them.
With UMCOR’s support, IOCC has also reconstructed and strengthened permanent shelters for displaced families. UMCOR’s support has likely reached an estimated 73,000 people with emergency supplies, food, water and shelter, as well as legal and psychosocial help as they adjust to life while their country is at war.
Since the beginning of the war, The United Methodist Church in Ukraine has stretched its resources and grown in its expertise in caring for IDP populations. In various localities – where this small church of a few congregations has connections – pastors, congregants and volunteers have welcomed, fed, sheltered and aided displaced people in many ways. United Methodists from the wider connection of congregations around the world have partnered directly with the Ukrainian UMC and through UMCOR to increase its capacity to serve many neighbors.
*Names changed to protect identity.
excerpt from a story by Christie R. House, consultant writer and editor, Global Ministries and UMCOR.
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