MCC Canada worker, Emily Loewen, is on the ground in Ukraine right now. The following is an email received by her coworker, Rick Cober Bauman:
I’m grateful to be able to send you an update. Our part of the city still has power. Lots of other places do not.
Hearing about what’s going on in Ukraine and witnessing it first-hand are two very different things.
It’s cold. Four degrees doesn’t sound that bad to us Canadians, but when the wind is blowing and your house doesn’t have heat, it can be brutal.
So many people don’t have heat right now. The electricity comes and goes, and they aren’t sure when it will come back on.
Today I met a woman named Olga who told me her family fled their home in the eastern part of the country with just the clothes on their backs. She and her two young kids are staying in a shelter, and it can be really cold when they don’t have electricity.
It’s heartbreaking to watch as parents try to keep their children warm.
The city we’re in right now is safe. But we’re hearing about new missiles being fired around the country, landing in places like Zaporizhzhia. These strikes will damage more infrastructure, leaving people without homes or electricity.
All this to say, things are getting worse in Ukraine — not better. As Christmas approaches, joy is definitely in short supply.
I’m so glad you sent our donors that letter. The need here is so real. Their help couldn’t come at a better time.
I’ll try to send another update soon.
– Emily
If Emily’s report moves you to make a special donation to help children and families get through the winter in Ukraine, and other parts of the world, visit donation.mcccanada.ca/warmth.