The children in this photo were happy when I met them last month. Now they are freezing cold, huddling in the dark, without sustainable food or water, and no prospects for this to change soon.
I met them 6 weeks ago. They live in temporary shelters, their homes and towns are destroyed, and their provisions are inadequate. Winter sub-zero temperatures and ongoing missile strikes aimed at power stations have added a new threat to their lives and all 7.5 million children enduring the violence of the Russian invasion. Thinking of these kids right now breaks my heart. I want to help them. Will you join me?
Yesterday I received a message from my friend who was with us when we met all these kids in Kyiv. In fact, he is the one who organized all the events: “Our homes are also cold and without electricity. My wife already got sick.” He then mentioned one of 70 missile strikes from 4 days ago and added, “We do everything we can to help those around us. But they are not safe: at the first explosion, the children and I were a couple of hundred meters from the power plant, the plaster of the 5-storey building fell on my head and I quickly took my boys and hid in some kind of a warehouse.”
The war has forced approximately 2 million children into temporary and inadequate shelters, many of them enduring the cold winter with their siblings and most often, their mothers, in tents. The rest of Ukraine’s remaining 5.5 million children fare only slightly better in their homes. No electricity affects everyone. They need our help. Will you please join us to help them?
Their needs were already extreme last month. Since the start of October there have been hundreds of missile and drone strikes aimed at, among other targets, destroying Ukraine’s power grid. No electricity means no light, no heat, no water, and, in some cases, no way to finish a surgery at a hospital. It means no internet or the the possibility to charge your phone so you can connect with the rest of the world, including your family.
If everyone who reads this contributes five dollars, we can change this. By sending funds to buy locally produced blankets, fuel for generators at community centers and churches, and other essential supplies, we can reach Ukraine’s children with timely aid that would comfort and even save lives. Our local distribution network is capable, motivated, and waiting for more support to deliver more supplies.
My wife and co-founder of Novi, said it this way: “We want to help pay for fuel for the generators, for blankets and flashlights. The more we receive, the more we will be able to give. I ask for this totally shamelessly. It is not for me. It is for my friends.“
To make this a manageable and community supported event, I’m begging everyone to give 5 dollars. Just 5 dollars for the children of Ukraine. They need our help right now. Please join us to help them.
You know as well as I do that the children of Ukraine are the future of the nation. We, who are able to, must do what we can do to ensure that they can survive and thrive. Now is the time to do for them what we would want done for our own.
Here are links to current and relevant news on Ukraine: NRC, Relief Web, NBC, Forbes
The Novi Community is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
