Ukrainian spirit is unbroken
IN January 2008 I travelled to Ukraine with the shoebox appeal where organisers distributed gifts to children who were vulnerable or were suffering from health complaints and the trip really opened my eyes as to what they had to cope with with.
The party even got to within 50km of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant which was the scene of the worst nuclear disaster the world has ever known and the kids were still suffering from the health effects of the resulting fallout years later.
Fast forward to the present day and Ukraine has unfortunately been thrust into the spotlight once again following the invasion by Russian troops.
We have all watched on with disbelief as events have unfolded and the aggression of the invaders has escalated.
This week I spoke to an Inverness man who has heard first hand what his friends are enduring. I am really pleased with how this story worked out and I am impressed with how it was presented in today’s paper.
It just goes to show the value of good design in newspapers by hard working sub editors who catch the readers eye and make them buy hard copies of the paper.
AN Inverness man who has been sending thousands of pounds to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion has heard from friends in the war-torn country of a feeling of optimism that they will win in the end.
Although tired and scared, Ukrainians have been resolute in the face of their aggressors for several days.
“They still have hope and they have strength,” said Simeon Ewing, who set up the Children’s Ministry Ukraine charity 15 years ago while living there.
“Most of the people we have contact with are Christians and that puts a whole different perspective on things for them – their faith and answered prayers – they have a lot of strength from that.”
He and his wife, 41-year-old Joanna who is originally from Poland, have also made their own donations.
“Over the past 10 days to two weeks, at the last check, I think about £10,000 has come in,” he said.
“We’ve already sent £6000 out to Ukraine – that has gone directly to people who are looking after refugees and some of it has been sent to families who are on the road.”
Mr Ewing, who lives in Westhill, said financial support was helping make sure refugees had money for food and clothing. He has received messages from some that have been grateful for the help.
His connection with Ukraine began when he was working for the Scripture Union Centre and he emigrated there with his work.
He is still in contact with people he met when he lived there in areas such as Mariupol, which saw some of the worst attacks, and around capital city Kyiv.
“I spent a year working in an orphanage in Mariupol,” he said. “That link has been throughout and I was in Ukraine for nine-and-a-half years.”
He also lived in the town of Rzhyshchiv, which is to the south of Kyiv, for around seven years.
He said that workers with the church had been helping to evacuate people from Kyiv and had taken in a “steady flow of refugees” to look after.
Mr Ewing said that towns on the northern edge of Kyiv, where Scripture Union Ukraine has its base, had also seen some of the most intense fighting.
He said he had heard that some of the people had managed to leave their homes but others had not been so fortunate.
He added: “It’s pretty obvious really. If you were able to get out in the first couple of days then fine. If you weren’t, it would become very, very difficult. A lot of people have ended up trapped and surrounded.
“In that northern edge of Kyiv we have got friends who are trapped.
“There is a lady, who was actually originally from Mariupol, she and her husband and a child have been in their basement for I don’t know how long – it is about six days since anyone had any direct contact with them.
“I do know from her mother they were actually considering an evacuation attempt today. We have heard in the last 24 hours that she is alive.”
He added that she had described the awful conditions that they were enduring.
“The majority of people we know probably managed to get out of danger areas before it was too late and it is amazing what we have been able to do from Scotland to help,’’ he said.
• For more about Children’s Ministry Ukraine visit: http://www.facebook.com/Childrens-Ministry-Ukraine-107499575994772
• For the story online visit: http://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/tales-of-hope-amid-the-bloodshed-268547/
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From The Inverness Courier on Friday, March 11, 2022.
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