"Lyudi Poruch" (People Nearby) Ministry

joelbutts1231minis
May 25, 2023
3 min read

Updated: May 26, 2023

A message from the brothers and sisters in Christ in Berdychiv, Ukraine.

Greetings to our brothers and sister in Christ in America!

We are an NGO called “Lyudi Poruch” (which means “People Nerby” in Ukrainian). We work to help people in our community in Berdychiv, Ukraine who are in dire need. We began this ministry even before the full-scale invasion began in 2022. Now because of the war, the needs of people in our community have multiplied exponentially and have been gravely exacerbated by the war on our country. Our work is only beginning.

Children are some of the most deeply affected by the displacement caused by Russia's unjust war on Ukraine."UNICEF’s Executive Director said children and families in Ukraine are “paying the highest price for this brutal war...Behind every number is a family torn apart and changed forever; it’s heart-wrenching,” ~ Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights - Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Berdychiv is located in central Ukraine approximately 112 miles (82km) west of Kyiv in the Zhytomyr Region.

OUR FIRST PROJECT

Our first project was “Dobryi Obid”, or “Good Lunch”. It began a few years ago before the war, actually at the very beginning of the pandemic. We began feeding kids in the community - about 35 of them. When the war began those numbers multiplied ten-fold.

Every month we cook and hand out about 6000 free meals - YES!! 6,000 (six thousand). Those meals are provided to poor families, children from “at-crisis” families, the homeless, the jobless, the elderly who have no caregivers, and the disabled and handicapped.

[Some of the people that Lyudi Poruch serves in one day through their Dobryi Obid Project]

We even go the “extra mile” and deliver meals and some necessities to over 56 homes of the disabled, since they can’t come to our kitchen, EVERY DAY!

OUR SECOND PROJECT

For our second project, we created a Help Center for IDPs (internally displaced people). So far we have 15,000 people living in our town and in the nearby area. They were forced to leave their homes because of open shelling by the Russian army, active combat, and hostilities in the territories where they lived. That number is constantly growing.

There are an estimated 5,914,000 internally displaced people in Ukraine. Nearly 8 million refugees from Ukraine have been recorded in neighboring countries and across Europe. Approximately 17.6 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in 2023. - UNRefugees.org

We provide aid and assistance to about 500-600 people every month - EVERY MONTH!! One of the main ways we help is by providing them with their basic needs - giving them grocery sets, toiletries, clothes, blankets, and medicines. We also do our best to meet other needs they might have. These can be lots of different big and small items that we all take for granted in our homes such as cleaning supplies, household goods, and bathroom supplies.

In addition to meeting physical needs, we provide a vital means of support - psychological and emotional help for those who have suffered the trauma of war. We organize many different support group meetings and events and minister to and share the love of Christ with these hurting people.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

So we turn to you for help, to cover the needs of these vulnerable people. We need your

financial partnership for the following:

Rent for our building and utilities that we use to prepare meals and warehouse the goods we distribute to those in need.
Fuel and upkeep for our delivery vehicle.
Groceries and other much-needed items -
- vegetables, canned meat, cereals, tea
- food containers, clamshells, utensils, etc.
- hygiene and toiletries: shampoos, shower gel, soap, women's pads, diapers of different sizes for kids and adults, toothpaste, toothbrushes, laundry detergent, etc.
- men’s and women’s clothes (underwear, coats and jackets, everyday clothes), men’s, women's, and kid’s shoes of all sizes
- bed linens and blankets, towels, washcloths, and other household items

In 2023 we purchased a vehicle with the help of our friends at Twelve3One Ministries. We are able to speed and streamline the delivery of meals and aid to those who are unable to leave home including the elderly and handicapped.

Please take a few brief moments to view our organization’s work via our Instagram profile

https://instagram.com/dobryi_obid?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

We deeply appreciate any help and would be so grateful if you would become our partners through our friends at Twelve3One Ministries.

Visit their website at www.1231ministries.org/donate.