A fire in the forest steppe in eastern Ukraine where there has been no rain for several months, is more than likely.
Unfortunately, strong winds made this fire that started on September 30 much more destructive. The fire which started in the forest, spread into the cemetery, then came into the village and started destroying houses, killing pets and, sadly enough, people.
Our last trip to areas affected by fires was shocking to the core. On the last day of the trip it started raining which made the picture even more eerie compared to a sunny day. In the midst of chilly rain, the owners of destroyed homes continued disassemble rubble with their own hands covered in dust with tears in their eyes.
It’s scary to imagine that a cold winter is on its way, and these people still have nowhere to live. After almost a month since their homes had been destroyed, they lost hope of receiving any kind of help from the government.
Elderly widow Kateryna turned away from us in tears when we brought help to her burnt house. Her documents, her phone, and every single thing she owned are now destroyed, except for the clothes she was wearing on the day of fire.
“I am so grateful to all these people whom I don’t even know. They provided me with food and clothes and didn’t leave me along… I never knew that there is so much kindness in our world! I dream that my house will be repaired and I can spend the rest of my years in my land! Thanks for this delicious and fresh meal! This is very valuable! ” – the elderly woman thanked us.
40-year-old Ruslan is father of two children. “Our life just started getting a little better when we started repairs in our house and the children grew up. This fire took away everything that we had saved. For our whole life we saved every penny and didn’t buy everything we needed – just to invest into our house.
Now we have nothing, we have to start everything from scratch. But we are not giving up! After all, while we are alive and we are surrounded by such caring people like you. We need to believe that we will cope with this disaster! Thank you for your kind words and product support!” – sincerely thanked the man. It was obvious how embarrassed even to accept this help from us!
Tatiana is a young mother with two minor children, whose house burned down to the ground. Now they were placed in a shelter for fire victims in Severodonetsk, where conditions are far from being normal.
“Any grocery help is a great support for us, because it is not convenient for us to cook in someone else’s premises, where we don’t belong”! We thank “Operation Blessings” for their concern and help!” – Tatiana said.
There are many more stories of disadvantaged fire victims who did not allow us to publish their photos and stories. The people are tired – they are tired of waiting for help from the government. They are tired of television, which now and then teases their wounds, tired of the fact that it gets colder, and their main problem of being homeless has not been resolved.
We are grateful to every partner and donor that with your donation we can bring them food. This is really the first priority for those who have lost all supplies and even the stoves where they can cook it.
To make a donation you can here: http://helpua.org/en/home-en/
By Anna Chaban
