Since Russia massively attacked peaceful and much smaller nation in February 2022 there was not a single “me day” in the schedule of Ukrainians. Every day they wake up in uncertainty. Who survived the night? Are my relatives safe? Will we have an internet connection? When will the heating be back? When will the electricity be turned on? How do I get to work? When will transportation start moving? How can I keep the food safe? How will I heat breakfast for the kids? I lost my home. Where will I go? I lost my family. Who needs me now? My children are severely injured. Will they survive? Where will I get enough love and hope to go on?
If you can answer all the questions in the morning, then you can start asking yourself the next set of questions. Did my relatives and friends survive the night? Do they need my help? Are my neighbors ok? Who needs my help today? How can I be useful? What can I do to stop the war and restore justice?
We all know correct answer – it is never safe to go to a war zone. However, for Bryan Bayda, bishop of Toronto and Eastern Canada of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, there is no doubt that he can be useful there, in Ukraine – in L’viv, in Kyiv, in Zaporizhzhia, in Odesa. This November he decided to go on his sixth trip to Ukraine and bring hope to people in care of CNEWA Canada’s projects. The news that bishop Bryan would like to support CNEWA’s much needed Ukraine Program visit was a great relief for me. I was very happy to go and show him what we do in Ukraine and how we can work together to get more help when the donations have drastically declined over the last year.
When anyone from CNEWA goes to visit the countries we work in, we think of the following:
- How can we help people in need?
- How can we make sure the help is directed to where it is needed most?
- Did our support bring expected results?
- How can we inform our donors of what we saw?
- How can we inspire our donors to continue supporting CNEWA’s mission?
In Ukraine, and throughout the broader world of Ukrainians, the end of November is always associated with the commemoration of the Holodomor – purposeful genocide of Ukrainians by starvation orchestrated by the Soviet Russia in 1933-34. As the annihilation of the nation continues almost 100 years after, it was even more significant for the CNEWA delegation to light a candle in memory of those innocent victims of greed and power.
Best Ukrainian men and women continue to risk their lives fighting Russian attacks to allow the rest of the people in the country live their normal lives. Thousands of injuries need to be treated daily stretching the medical staff over the overwhelming amount of work. New hospitals and training of new staff are a vital need to treat the civilians. With this in mind, CNEWA supported several hospitals in Ukraine and we saw the growing need in continuing this support in future.
Children are our future. But the war leaves many of them not only injured or dead but also orphaned. The Bridge of Hope and Home of Hope program run by the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate and initiated by the UGCC Eparchy of Edmonton gives hope to the orphans and helps the girls who had to flee the war from Ukrainian territories occupied by the Russian soldiers.
CNEWA has been one of the main supporters of the Mudra Sprava Patriarchal Fund since the full-scale invasion broke out in 2022. Their projects continue to build up communities affected by war, rehabilitate families whose relatives were killed in the battlefields, and provide essential food boxes.
Even with daily attacks, life does not stop in Ukraine. People live there and so does the church. Is it safe to build in Ukraine? No. But it is necessary. Three Holy Hierarchs Seminary in Kyiv has been a long-time project supported by CNEW with the help of a generous family from Edmonton. Today the seminary provides home and education to 61 students. 96 graduates of the seminary now serve as priests in the eastern part of Ukraine.
Many people in Ukraine are left without homes. In March 2022 Russian bombs destroyed eight houses in the town of Korosten in north-western Ukraine. People had nowhere to go and lived in temporary dwellings like summer kitchens or saunas since then. This is just one of many examples. Thanks to you our donors, CNEWA Canada was able to rebuild the houses with the help of local authorities, organizations and Kyiv Archeparchy. With winter soon upon us, these homes still need interior finishing. Please consider an online donation to CNEWA Canada, so that we may help the owners to move in before the winter frost arrives.
Help us support and rebuild Ukraine with your prayer and donation!
We wish to thank Bishop Bryan Bayda of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada and our many partners on the ground who made this solidarity trip possible.