Four Years in Ukraine

2022: Jumping into Action

When news of the war broke, we were immediately concerned about our 63 sponsored children across the country. We communicated with our ChildCARE Plus partners to ensure all children were evacuated to safer locations. We assisted another 440 children from high-risk areas, especially those with disabilities, transporting them for evacuation out of dangerous areas.

We gathered a network of national churches and organizations in Slovakia, Romania, Poland, Hungary and Czechia, ready to respond. Everyone was focused on helping their neighbours, sending in supplies, and being the church to families in need. Together, we cared for people living in areas of active fighting and those displaced within Ukraine. We provided over 43,500 families with emergency food, water, supplies and shelter in the initial days of the war.

Assisting with refugees flooding into surrounding countries, we worked with partners in Moldova, Poland, Slovakia and Czechia:

• At the border crossing in Moldova, we helped supply food, bedding, clothing and hygiene products for 300 refugees fleeing Ukraine.
• We helped fund a preschool for 60 Ukrainian refugee children in Poland.
• In Slovakia, we helped shelter 25 people.
• In Czechia, we helped transport 200 people to safety.
• Supporting vulnerable Roma families who were displaced in Ukraine, we helped provide emergency relief packs to over 300 people.

Throughout this first year of war, ERDO watched as churches in surrounding nations took in refugee families. We were fortunate to support these churches, covering the cost of utilities, food and supplies. It was amazing to see how much could be accomplished when the global church works together to help families in need.

2023: Our Partners Are Not Slowing Down

2023 was another year of tireless work, as our partners lived in refugee centres alongside the families they served.

Still thinking about our sponsored children, we ensured all 63 were safe, cared for, and that our donors’ support still reached each child. We also helped evacuate another 3,000 children with disabilities to safer countries.

Supporting families living in Ukraine, we helped provide food, supplies, medicine and shelter to 69,110 people. Through church partners in Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, we sent food, supplies and medicine to another 56,839 people in Ukraine.

In Poland, we continued supporting the school where 60 Ukrainian refugees were being educated. We supported the education of another 30 Ukrainian children in Croatia and Czechia.

Caring for refugees, we provided food, shelter and supplies to 34,740 people, including vulnerable Roma families, in Croatia, Czechia, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia and Poland.

Thinking about families’ longer-term needs, we began supporting the Polish Life Centre where 2,000 Ukrainian refugees received food, supplies, coaching to find employment, can take language courses and can access counselling services.

We supported a Bible College that became a major refugee hub, bringing Ukrainians from war zones into safer areas of the country. Through practical assistance of local and international churches, we saw thousands of lives transformed!

2024: Rebuilding Lives in Poland

While the war continued, many families started returning home in 2024. The need for psychosocial support was evident, as families focused on recovering from the trauma they have and continue to experience.

Our partners at the Poland Life Centre helped refugee families with trauma counselling, employment training and provided classes for adults, children and youth. Kids and youth socialized at the centre, played sports, took part in language classes, created crafts and learned about the Gospel. Parents were able to leave their children at the centre while they took part in their own programs or went to work. Through the Polish Life Centre, we supplied 2,000 refugees with food hampers, which contained groceries like macaroni, flour, oil, sugar and rice.

We also continued to support the preschool where Ukrainian refugees attend school alongside local Polish children. The school follows the Polish curriculum to support these students as they integrate into the country. Many of the children’s fathers were conscripted into the army and had to stay in Ukraine. Knowing their children are safe in school relieves a heavy burden off their mothers, allowing them to find employment opportunities in Poland.

Thank you for continuing to support families impacted by the war in Ukraine in so many ways.

Help is Still Needed

The war in Ukraine is now in its fourth year.  This ongoing conflict continues to leave people in desperate need, including limited access to food, water, medicine and shelter. Though many Ukrainians have started returning home, the trauma and lack of services continues to create challenges.

ERDO is actively monitoring the evolving situation and is providing practical support through our partners. We are working with local churches in Ukraine and PAOC global workers, ensuring people’s physical and spiritual needs are being met for those living along the front lines as well as those displaced throughout the country.