March 2023

The war in Ukraine has created a huge humanitarian crisis, with more than a third of the country’s population displaced, millions of people left without electricity, and many without heat, clean water and other basic supplies. At least 17.6 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.

MWB Volunteers serve hot food to families in Lyman, Ukraine

Volodymyr Brychka, a church pastor in Karpylivka, western Ukraine, has led the way in his passion to serve and help those affected by the war. A kind and cheerful man, Volodymyr is 70 years old – and his fiery zeal for the Lord shows no sign of burning out. Since the war began, he has hardly spent a single week at home, but has been inspiring and organizing teams of Christian volunteers throughout the region.

During this time in particular, the faith of each Christian must be backed up by good deeds...

For many years, Mission Without Borders (MWB) have partnered with Volodymyr’s church, and over this last year, we have worked closely with them to deliver many types of support to people affected by the war.

“During this time in particular, the faith of each Christian must be backed up by good deeds," Volodymyr said.

We are witnessing a huge need for such deeds – and a huge need for God’s light to be poured out on people: on the families who are losing their loved ones, on people who no longer have a place to live, on those people who have become injured by the war and disabled, on those who are suffering from the traumatic experiences they’ve endured ... the list is long indeed. It is a big challenge but also a great opportunity for all the people who can help.

Something as simple as warm cup of tea is appreciated by families that have lost everything to the war.

Millions of Ukrainians depend on churches for food and aid
as their homes and communities have been destroyed in the war. 

Volunteers hold infant twins as their parents eat a warm meal
at a MWB food distribution point in Kherson, Ukraine.

The church in Karpylivka village became a hub for distributing all the donations that came flooding in from all over western Ukraine – and for organizing support, travel and emergency accommodation for displaced families.

Mykola Bohdanets, MWB Ukraine director, said, “The Mission’s partnership with the church of Karpylivka village has already brought a lot of good fruit. This happens when two organizations have similar intentions, vision, and spirit."

“We have always worked to reach people for Christ, and now, during the war, we do our best to help in the most effective way in the places where it’s needed the most. It means so much that there are so many brave and devoted volunteers at Karpylivka church. We can count on them, and they can count on us. This is essential in the work we do.”

The war has been ongoing for over a year – but the people of Karpylivka have not stopped giving and serving. Every day, tons of donated food is sent from western regions – including from MWB – to eastern regions, to the areas hardest hit by the war.

A bakery in Karpylivka bakes bread to be delivered up to 900km away, and there is so much joy on the faces of those people who received fresh loaves after having not seen bread in weeks. Many men from Karpylivka church have been regularly travelling to the war zone, right up to the frontline, evacuating people and delivering essentials.

Volunteers unload a load of donated potatoes in Karpylivka, Ukraine for families who have had their food supplies cut off due to the war.

They have risked their lives to save others from death. They are not looking for rewards or to be called heroes; rather, they are following the voice of God and their conscience, moved by the urgency and need they see before them. In areas that have been liberated from Russian occupation, where there is no gas or electricity, volunteers visit and cook hot meals for hundreds of people, using a field kitchen provided by MWB and vegetables and grains grown in MWB’s agricultural project in Sarny.

Even though we’d lost almost everything, we stopped feeling so much despair.
We found trusted friends who feel compassion for us and show us care.

Olga, a refugee who fled from Mariupol, said, “We escaped and came to Rivne, and we soon turned to Mission Without Borders for help. We were accepted as family. “Even though we’d lost almost everything, we stopped feeling so much despair. We found trusted friends who feel compassion for us and show us care. They say that it’s God who moves them to care for others, and I’ve also started to look to him in my circumstances.”

With the help of our supporters, we can continue to deliver aid and help those most affected by the war in Ukraine. Donate today and together with local churches, we can shine the light of God’s love in the darkest of places.