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Dear Friends,
Military activity has escalated in the Sumy region and Lebedyn over the past week. What was meant to be a quieter week of preparation for this week’s teenage camp became frustrating and difficult. Supermarkets in Sumy were hit by missiles, followed by drones that prevented firefighters from tackling the fires. Educational book suppliers were also targets with 1.5m books destroyed in July so far across Ukraine. Power stations and petrol stations were also targeted.
Bohdan visited Sumy city and was shocked by what he saw. Fuel was unavailable and everything was closed. He heard there might be fuel in Romny, about an hour’s drive away, but while he was queuing there, air raid sirens sounded and the station had to close. With too little fuel to get home, Bohdan was stranded. After two hours, he pleaded with the owner, who discreetly filled his car, even though it should not have been done. The round trip took more than four hours.
Power cuts in Lebedyn are constant. Concerned by the situation, Bohdan arranged a meeting with the CEO of the power company. They agreed to do all they can to keep power supplied to the Centre and support its work. Of course, if there is a major strike, no one can prevent the consequences, but it is encouraging to have such goodwill from local leaders.
In our meeting, Bohdan looked and sounded exhausted, but he said the team remains in good spirits. They were able to get everything they needed in the end, and the camp began this week.
More than 90 teenagers came, even though only 75 had booked. All have been affected by the war, which is showing itself in a range of behavioural challenges. By the end of Tuesday, clear boundaries had been established and the young people were fully engaged. Bohdan’s wife, Alla, is serving as a team leader for the first time. Many of the children had wanted to be on Sergey’s or Valentine’s team, so being placed on Alla’s team was not initially popular. By Tuesday evening, however, her team was leading the points chart, and everyone wanted to be with her!
We have been working to secure more aid for Lebedyn. People are already anxious about a long, difficult winter with little or no power or fuel, and limited food supplies. We need to find several sources of help, so please do pray for this.
Larisa, who runs the orphanages in Austria, Synivka, and Sumy city, has returned from Austria. She had hoped to build a large bomb shelter in Sumy, but the government has now withdrawn most funding for the orphanages. As a result, she has had to abandon that plan and focus instead on raising funds simply to feed the children. Fresh supplies such as fish, meat and milk are hard to obtain. Bohdan immediately took food and other supplies from what we were able to provide, and we are committing funds each month for the next three months before reassessing the situation.
Bohdan shared more about what Larisa is facing. Despite cutting funding, the government continues to send her more children to care for, so numbers are rising. The situation is especially difficult for the children in Sumy city. Although they should be living at the orphanage centre, conditions are so bad that they are not allowed to sleep in their bedrooms. Instead, they must spend each night in an overcrowded hospital that is also under constant attack. Every evening they are taken there, then collected early the next morning to be fed and cared for before the same routine begins again. Bohdan does not understand this decision, and it is taking a heavy toll on the children and Larisa’s team. It seems even more concerning when cancer patients are being moved to Zhytomyr because Sumy is considered unsafe for them.
With political unrest at the top of Ukraine’s government, tensions are rising, but the team is doing all it can to reach as many people as possible at this time.
Please pray for aid supplies, food for the orphanages, and the camps taking place this week. Next week will be a week of rest before the final camp of the summer the following week.
Every blessing
Peter Martin
Founding Director of Hope Lebedyn
P.S. It costs around £35 for one child to attend a non-residential camp week. This covers two meals, drinks, snacks, and all activities. We need to send $25,000 to meet these costs, so if you can contribute in any way, we would be very grateful. This link can show you more info……Hope Lebedyn's page | Stewardship
