Disaster Relief Aid - 2022

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     Ukraine Emergency Appeal - February 2022

 

 

Ukraine Emergency Appeal

February 24, 2022

Background

     On February 24, 2022 the Russian military attacked Ukraine.  Hundreds of thousands of persons have already sought refuge outside of Ukraine.  Others have remained in the country but are displaced from their homes.  The humanitarian crisis is accelerating in Ukraine and in neighboring countries as the violence escalates and the number of people on the move multiplies.

 

UCC Response 

     The United Church of Christ is appealing for support for refugees who have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries and for elderly and other vulnerable people who are displaced within Ukraine and unable to leave.  As a member of the ACT Alliance (Actions by Churches Together), UCC support is being targeted to people most in need through humanitarian relief partners with a history of working in the region.

     For example, Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA) has been working along the Hungary-Ukraine border for years.  It is focusing its war relief in Ukraine to two border cities. In a 10-day span early in the conflict, it trucked 278 metric tons of food and non-food items into Ukraine for relief efforts there.

     “We have 24-hour-a-day help on the Ukrainian side for people waiting to cross,” reported HIA communicators Daniel Fekete and Kristof Gancs. “The queue of cars waiting to cross into Hungary has at times reached 5-6 kilometers long. Some 200,000 refugees already have crossed into Hungary, and many more are expected.

     “It’s a rapidly changing situation. The number of people needing help will grow. We just heard of a place near Romania that needs help. We’ll go there,” they said.

     Aid also is being extended through Hungarian Reformed Church Aid, the relief agency of the Reformed Church in Hungary. The UCC’s long-term relationship with the Reformed Church in Hungary is held through the Europe and the Middle East Office of Global Ministries. 

     Gifts made to UCC Ukraine Relief Fund will provide shelter, food, and other care to war refugees and internally displaced people.  It also will help refugees and asylum seekers from African, Middle Eastern and other countries who had sought refugee in Ukraine and now are twice displaced, as well as citizens of more than 125 other countries living in Ukraine.

     Uniting in prayer, action, and giving, we stand as a people of faith in love and compassion with the people of Ukraine and all who are affected, and with our global partners who are welcoming those driven from their homes.

 

How to Send Aid through the UCC

     One hundred percent of your donations for relief aid are sent by St. Paul's UCC to that relief aid cause.

     To provide aid, simply make your gift payable to “St. Paul’s UCC” marked “UCC Ukraine Relief Fund,” which you can mail to the church office: St. Paul's UCC; 301 West Penn Ave; Robesonia, PA 19551.

or

     You can make a secure online donation by clicking on this green online giving link, use either of the “Special Mission” fields, and type “UCC Ukraine Relief" in the  Comments Box.

     In addition, you are invited to pray for Ukraine, Russia, and peace.  You can find a prayer by clicking on this Prayer for Ukraine link.

     For more information, please contact the Mission Committee (Geri Gammel, Chairperson).  You can also click on this Ukraine - UCC Response for more information on the UCC National Website.

Prayers

     We invite you to pray for the people of Ukraine, Russia, those offering aid and those in leadership positions, and for hope and peace.  Click on this Prayer Vigil link to view and pray along with our February 2022 prayer vigil service for Ukraine.