Where you helped this week in Ukraine

Plus: United Ukraine's first baby!

Good afternoon everyone,

We’re happy to present this weekend’s update on how your donations continue to help the people of Ukraine. And buckle in, because there’s a lot here this week as our partners on the ground get more organized with every passing day. The mood in southern Ukraine borders on jubilant after the sinking of the Russian flagship in the Black Sea, and roads are clearing in Northern Ukraine as workers remove debris and destroyed Russian vehicles. Your donations support a population that continues to resist an unprovoked invasion, and are provide critical aid to the people who need it most. Since Tuesday’s update, United Ukraine has distributed an additional $5,213.58 in direct aid to families and community leaders on the ground. We’ve got a lot to show you, but the truth is we really need your support. I get photos every day from hungry families who are waiting for us to get to them. We do it as fast as we can, but the limiting factor is always fundraising. So please, if you think this work is valuable, help us help the people of Ukraine.

The best ways to give are:

Via Debit, Credit, or Paypal:  At this link
Via Venmo: @UnitedUkraine (under the business tab)
Our Newly Relaunched Website: http://www.united-ukraine.org

And now, here are just a few (really!) of the people and projects you’ve helped.

Ukraine has an exceptionally low cost of living by Western standards, and that means your donations buy a LOT of food. One of our partners in Kyiv, Vlad, has been tirelessly delivering food to the suburbs for two full weeks now - totaling more than 5,500 pounds of food to date. Some residents are too fearful to go to public markets after missile attacks on local shopping malls, train stations, and public spaces: so your donations and these deliveries don’t just give them dinner - they give them peace of mind. There’s nothing more valuable than knowing someone else is looking out for you when you need it. This is dangerous work, and we’re lucky that Vlad is willing to do it as long as we can keep financing his efforts.

One of our partners from Nikolaev and Odessa, Anna, has started volunteering at local hospitals on top of all her work with the orphanage and young family support networks. That gives her a unique insight into what medical supplies clinics and pharmacies are running low on at this stage of the war. Your donations helped supply several clinics in southern Ukraine this week with components to make more IV drip bags, as well as large supplies of “Israeli gauze” that had become difficult to find locally. These materials save lives. When you need medical supplies, it’s a real need. Every hour and day you have to wait is potentially the last one you have. Anna’s work saves lives and keeps families together through this war and onto the next peace.

We also got direct aid to this family in Ivanivka, Ukraine after they were brought to our attention by Fabenson (middle), who lived with them while he was in the Peace Corps. Here’s what Fabenson had to say about them:

I lived with my Ukrainian host family in the village for 3 months while I was learning the Ukrainian language. I lived with Mama Irina and her family. They introduced me to their whole extended family telling them that I am their new son. They made me feel welcome by including me to all the family functions and celebrations. I was kind of a celebrity in the village because I was the only black person the villagers ever met in real life. When I visited the family in December, they told me that no one else in the village wanted to host a black person when Peace Corps approached different families asking them if they would host a black volunteer. They were the only one that accepted and they are so happy with their decision. I really love the family. It was hard not hearing if they were alive or not for almost 20 days after the Russians took over the village.

Thankfully, they are alive. And your support is keeping them fed and safe. Good and kind hearted people deserve their karmic rewards.

We’ve also kept supplying families and children with direct support and programmatic support with diaper and food deliveries. The biggest takeaway every time I talk to these families is how much these mothers are truly in pain to watch their kids suffer through this war. They don’t want their kids to be hungry at all, and it’s even worse to watch them be scared and hungry at the same time. We’re glad to be there as often and as quickly as we can.

And last, but never least: Meet Avital

Avital (her name means “God provides subistence”) is the 1st baby born to a family YOUR DONATIONS helped move to a safe location. New parents Nastya & Gennady were United Ukraine’s fifth family we supported in only the second week of the war, and now their perfect baby girl is in peace and safety.

How could we ever not care about this work? We see who it helps every day. And we’re glad that you can see it too. Please, tell your friends and family what we’re doing. It means more than you can ever imagine every time a new person discovers us and lends their support.

With love, sincerely,

Adam