Fall is the time of harvest and CBN-Emmanuel’s team was blessed to see the abundant fruit of our work in our many projects in eastern Ukraine.

In October we finalized several projects implemented in partnership with «Pope for Ukraine» Initiative. «Something to Eat Every Day» (SEEDs) project was just one of them.

«In early spring I asked the locals living on the front lines, “What are you needs?” And the women told me, «We need seeds. We want to plant our gardens. Even with this war, even under fire we are going to plant our gardens”. This was how we decided to offer this “Something to Eat Every Day” (SEEDs project) to the «Pope for Ukraine» Initiative.

The name of the project is pretty symbolic because we are talking about the seeds of kindness which will grow in people’s hearts and will bring much fruit in the fall. These people living on the front line need to work in their gardens. It will give them something to do when they wake up in the morning and it’s very important for them. This will make them busy, it will give them a chance to provide for themselves during the summer and secure a crop while preparing for the winter. And, most importantly, this opportunity to work in their gardens will give them some emotional relief. So our «SEED» project is very powerful in many ways» – shares Galina Kucher, CBN-Emmanuel’s Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Projects coordinator. 

6300 sets of vegetable seeds were distributed among beneficiaries in 40 towns and villages along the front line in eastern Ukraine. Each set contained the seeds of carrots, beats, cabbage, tomatoes,  zucchini, corn, peas, radish, sorrel, parsley, onions and potatoes.

“This kind of help should not be underestimated because seeds are very important for villagers. We always have to buy seeds in spring and the Pope has given us this wonderful gift his year.  We are very grateful to Him for this help!». The words of gratitude were heard from our beneficiaries in all villages of Donbass.

And now, the seeds planted with so much love and hope have brought am abundant harvest!. Last days of summer were marked by new stage of works – preparing the vegetables for winter and making preserves. 

“It is very important that every person has something to do and when he or she is able to see the results of the work. Our land has given us much fruit and it’s a wonder of God happening right in front of our eyes. This project has provided food for over 6,000 households in eastern Ukraine. By the most conservative estimate, these people were able to gather over 700 tons of vegetables», – shares Galina Kucher. 

We are grateful to Pope Francis and all caring Catholic Christians who answered his call to help the conflict-affected people in Eastern Ukraine!