This past spring Oksana Mykhaylovska, AFFEO Programs Director, visited families in Ukraine — families who received garden seeds and greenhouses as a result of AFFEO partnership. It is heartening that families across 23 cities and five regions in Ukraine are beginning to see more than produce — they’re seeing the promise of food security. And food security means that parents can confidently care for their children without fear of displacement or separation.
Many people that Oksana met had lost everything as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — their homes, farms, familiar way of life, and professions. They arrived in a new place with only the essentials, hoping to protect their children and give them a chance to live out their childhood in relative safety.
Among those that the AFFEO team visited were four families displaced from the same village in the Donetsk region to a safer area in the Cherkasy region. One story that stayed with Oksana was Vira’s.
Vira moved with her husband and six children — ages one to 17 — a little over a year ago. She herself is an orphan. Her experience of institutionalization and the large number of children she has make this family especially vulnerable and at risk of separation.
Her family rented an abandoned house, cleared the yard, planted a garden, and worked hard to make their new home livable. Since government support is small — sometimes not even enough for basic food — their garden is a lifeline. It provides fresh vegetables in summer and preserved food in winter.
This year, the greenhouse made a huge difference. After planting, temperatures dropped sharply, destroying many crops in the area. But for Vira’s family, the greenhouse saved their harvest — a matter of survival for them!
Rejoice with us as we see how God cares for Ukrainian families through our partners, seeds, and greenhouses — and how, in Vira’s case, six children can remain with in their family despite incredible hardship! Please pray that as crops are harvested as a result of AFFEO’s Seeds of Hope and greenhouse projects many, many families like Vira’s would be fed and sustained through the winter months … and avoid separation. Please ask God to help these families not only survive but thrive!
Thank you for standing in prayer with families like Vira’s, who could so easily be torn apart. May the Lord bless you for your faithfulness.