On 13 April 2023, I joined the Ukrainian aid shipment program of the Providence Organization of the Hungarian Unitarian Church, for the second time. This was Providence’s 8th aid mission since the outbreak of the war: since March 2022, the organization has been delivering humanitarian aid to Transcarpathia (southwest Ukraine) and the war zone (Odesa and Mykolaiv area). This time we came to Berehove, the Diaconal Coordination Center of the Transcarpathian Reformed Church. The shipment included an 18-kW generator, a pallet of canned food and cooking oil, 30 tourniquets, and 400 wax candles.
Now, as before, our hearts were filled with the sadness of compassion. Yet there is always a little ray of joy at the sight of people with good intentions who try to send hope into despair. There are several refugee shelters in Berehove; Ukrainians fleeing from war-torn regions are received with open hearts at the shelter run by the Reformed Diaconal Center.
I spoke to a woman of a 4-generation refugee family from Bakhmut: the eldest is retired, the youngest is still in kindergarten. They had already fled once in 2014, but returned soon afterwards, hoping that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict would end peacefully. They all had jobs, nice, tidy homes, and safe lives: Bakhmut was the cradle of the best years of their lives. They did not want to flee. However, one day a grenade hit next to the little grandson, who was playing peacefully. It didn't explode, thankfully. But this incident made them call the head of the Diaconal Centre, where they had found shelter in 2014, to ask if they could be admitted and if they could provide jobs for the family. Heartened by the affirmative answer, they left; and by the time they arrived, there was already a job for a family member. The other members of the family have since found jobs.
The woman said that even though they started out with bleeding hearts, they found love here – and that is what keeps them going. A lot has happened in Bakhmut since they left. On her phone, she showed photos she had received from the Bakhmut police: their homes were ransacked and looted; their apartment building was hit by a bomb. Struggling with tears, the grandmother said, "We have nothing left, we don't even have hope anymore. Whether we will ever get compensation or whether our apartment building will ever be rebuilt is a big question mark. We don't have enough money to buy a house on a teacher's salary. We have nothing left." This family is just one among many in the same situation.
Our Hungarian siblings from the Transcarpathian Reformed Church practice tolerance and the art of helping in an exemplary way. I believe that this is the only way to survive the horrors of war. I believe that there will always be those who will give to those who have lost everything – even the little they have been given.
There’s joy in my heart full of sadness and compassion because I am proud of the organization I represent, the International Convocation of Unitarian Universalist Women, and its partner, the Providence Organization. We are few in numbers, yet capable of great things. The generator we brought to Berehove will enable refugee families to have a constant supply of energy; the Diaconal Center will be able to bake bread and cook the refugees' daily meals.
Day after day, from the comfort of our sofas, we are witnessing a senseless war’s horrors and atrocities. Readers, friends, and supporters in compassion: thank you, on behalf of myself and the many fellow human beings who are suffering, for making it possible – through your financial donations – to alleviate the suffering of many people in need in Ukraine.