Greetings from Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine! I arrived very late last night after a full day of travel from Odessa to Kyiv to Ivano-Frankivsk. I was met at the airport by Ivan and Volodya and they sure looked good after a day of exhausting travel!
The last day in Odessa was amazing.
At the end of that day Yuri leaned back and looked at me and said, “John! WOW!” He went on to say that the three days of our visit in Odesa had been a blur. He said that he has never had so many “surprises” pop up that offered the opportunities and meetings and audiences as we had experienced in Odesa. He went on to say that he has a mountain of contacts and work as a result and simply did not know what to say about the visit. He said, “John! With you it is one surprise after another that God has sent to us on this visit. We have met people and have done things that I could never imagine. I have never lived 3 days like these!” I replied that he should have been with me in Zaporozhye or go with me to Ivano-Frankivsk and Kyiv.
It was indeed an amazing 3 days and was exhausting.
The last day of work in Odesa began with plans to continue visiting and inspecting the distribution points from the first container shipped into Odesa. There were several displaced peoples locations that we were scheduled to visit. We had shipped in a large supply of miscellaneous medical supplies and equipment but we just did not have opportunity to go and inspect those. But I did receive constant messages from the physicians and healthcare ministry that the supplies we shipped were so needed and so wonderful.
The first displaced people’s location was for disabled people.
This visit was most sobering to me.
For over a year I have been receiving and passing along reports of those displaced by Russia’s invasion, occupation and supply of the Pro-Russian Separatists. On this visit I came face-to-face with a number of them. It seemed that everyone I talked with was from Donetsk or Lugansk.
Some said they began fleeing Lugansk when the shelling first started. Others had arrived only recently because the Separatists would not allow them to leave and used them for human shields and anti-Ukraine propaganda reports in Russia. I listened to their stories. Suddenly the vagaries of the news reports and then faceless numbers vanished. I stood face-to-face with the reality of the horrors that has been ravaging Ukraine for over a year. Now the situations had faces and names. There were mommas, and grandmas, and children.
Reality is not pleasant.
When Russia invaded there were 260,000+ disabled people in Donetsk. Ukraine began evacuating these invalids quickly and most went to Odesa because of the medical facilities located there. But the influx of that many displaced people was unexpected. The required housing was hurriedly provided.
The displaced people’s location was in Odesa city limits in two towering apartment structures in a complex that had not been recently used. There is a third tower of apartments but it has fallen into such disrepair that it is dangerous even to walk nearby.
We went into the first complex and found the lobby to be nice and there were several children playing. There was a little white and yellow kitty (about 4-6 weeks old) and the children were coaxing it to follow them.
As soon as we walked in we were surrounded by mommas and grandmothers. When we introduced ourselves one of the mothers exclaimed, “Finally someone has come to us!”
We asked to see the rooms where they were housed. We were taken to the 15th floor and shown a room where eight people lived. It basically was a room filled with two double mattresses, a hotplate, and stacks of food and clothing arranged as neatly as can be in a room where eight people live. Strung above was a makeshift clothesline and articles of clothing were hanging to dry.
On the bed was a man about 20 years old. His name was Ruslan. Ruslan is in the most severe category of the disabled. He could not communicate. He would lay there with his finger in his ear and just grunt. When the momma (Natasha) tried to turn him over so he could see us he simply kept turning until he was back on his stomach with his finger in his ear. She said he stayed like that all the time. The grandmother (Ludmilia) told us that the family is from Lugansk but when Russia began bombing and shelling they had to leave.
They left just in time as Russian bombs destroyed their house. She said, “They want to go back but it is not safe and even if it was safe, they have nothing. All is gone.” The grandmother had come with the daughter and her family so she could help them. Natasha’s husband is also disabled having lost an arm in a mining accident. Next week Yuri is taking some adult diapers to Ruslan and other items to Natasha and her family.
Face after face…story after story…There were 16 floors in apartment building. We never left the 15th floor…
The items you placed into the Family Buckets, the articles of clothing that you sorted and folded, the various personal hygiene items, the mattresses that were shipped, the first aid supplies…all are cherished treasures in rooms where 8-10 are living.
We received word that a conference on the disabled was soon to start and we could get a number of answers to the situation at that meeting. We thought it would be a gathering of those in the apartment buildings. We were directed to the auditorium in the complex and joined a number of others who were slowing making their way there in wheelchairs, walking canes, etc.
Before the conference began we stood outside with a number and listened to their stories and hear of the urgent needs that the disabled have. Many had been there for a year and because of the war’s disruption their pensions and support had not yet caught up to them.
As we stood there we were told that this conference was to discuss the situation of the disabled on a national level and to learn what assistance is available. Without any prior warning Yuri came to me and said I was expected to be in the 
conference and would be making a presentation on what churches of Christ are doing to assist the displaced and especially the disabled.
We were ushered into the auditorium and seated in the circular table that was reserved for those participating in the program.
After the program I was introduced to a number of individuals.
One was a young girl named (Vladislava and the short name is Vladi). Vladi has been confined to a wheelchair her entire life. She is a very good student and spoke to me in good English. She had written out what she wanted to say and then read it to me. She is from Donetsk. She is also a music student and has composed a number of music pieces. She said that she misses her piano most of all and is trying to find someone that has an electric piano to borrow and play.
After finishing with the conference we had to rush to make an appointment that set into motion actions that have resulted in more contacts and meetings in Kyiv.
I thought the day was going to be and I could get some much neglected paperwork finished but Yuri received a telephone call and he said, “John! Another surprise has been waiting for you. Today you will be on television!”
We were taken to the Odesa Oblast television station and informed that a special taping was going to be made as to how the problems of the displaced people are being answered. And so we participated in a TV documentary about how the problems caused by the war are being met by those concerned. It was a good time but I did not get to say everything that I wanted to say (well I sure many of you are thinking that is a good thing…).
Late in the day I was told that there is a 5 story building that is being made available into which some of the most severely disabled will be moved. The building is undergoing renovation and the first floor is complete and modernized and is suitable for the disabled. The second floor is just about completed and then floors 3-5 are in various stages of repair. I was told that they have everything but cannot furnish it because all of the money is being used for repairs.
Now here is the amazing development…about one hour before I received word of this facility being prepared for the severely disabled, I received an email. This email told me that Rutgers University is remodeling some of their dorms and I could have all of the furnishings—beds, mattresses, chests, chairs, dressers, tables! It is a donation valued at $414,555.00 and offers 1,302 pieces of furniture (not including the mattresses).
The next question was how to get it from New Jersey to Odesa, Ukraine? I asked for bids on the shipping and received word that a company would do it for $2,500 each container (documents and all)! When I told the folks here I was told that they could raise enough money to pay for shipping! And the Lord gets the glory!
So…in such a short period of time, just as Yuri exclaimed, “WOW! It is one surprise after another that God has sent to us on this visit.”
Please continue praying for our efforts!
John L. Kachelman, Jr.
Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
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