Ellie Sturt writes:
As the Russian invasion progresses in Ukraine, over one million people have fled the country. Last week when the war began, the St Saviour’s PCC (our church council) decided to make a £500 donation to ServeNow, a non-profit that is currently evacuating high-risk women and children and moving them into Poland and Moldova. Many of the women and children they are currently evacuating fled from Crimea back in 2014, and, without external aid, they have no means of fleeing due to lack in transportation. So far, they have safely moved over 190 individuals from high risk areas into Poland and Moldova and then on to Sweden.
ServeNow were able to rescue 17 children and 6 adults from Chernihiv on Wednesday, a day prior to Russian missiles landing in residential areas, killing at over 40 civilians. The Russian military continues to lay siege to residential areas in Mariupol, Borodyanka and Kharkiv, all areas ServeNow is currently helping to evacuate.
Prior to the invasion, ServeNow ran children’s camps for orphans and underprivileged youth, provided wheelchairs and medical supplies to facilities in need, opened a beauty school and a bakery to provide a means for young women to learn a trade, and supported churches as they took root across the country. The Ukrainian ServeNow branch is headed by Tanya and Andre Shpygunova and are close family friends of mine. I have spent several summers working with them, and I have worked with or served many of the people they are currently helping evacuate.
Thank you for your prayers for my friends and family during this time. I cannot express my deep gratitude to St Saviour’s for donating and helping Tanya and Andre. It means more to my family and me than I can fully express. Please continue to pray for peace for Ukraine and pray for financial support and courage for the volunteers and organizations currently on the ground. Much love to you all.