UKRAINE — Samaritan’s Purse has served more than 6 million people throughout the first seven months of their response in Ukraine. They have distributed over 33,000 metric tons of food within Ukraine in partnership with the local church. Their water systems and newly constructed freshwater wells have provided more than 15 million liters of water to Ukrainians.Thirty-one airlift missions have brought relief for those struggling inside Ukraine and twenty-nine of these have been carried out through their DC-8 cargo jet, bringing in hundreds of tons of relief items, including our Emergency Field Hospital, medical supplies, food, and hygiene kits.

Now Samaritan’s Purse is transitioning from a disaster response to ongoing relief efforts in the suffering country.

Ryan Lane – Samaritan’s Purse:

I think, one of the greatest ways that I have seen God move in the country is just with this incredibly palpable hope.

It is very easy for those who are deepest in the conflict zones to lose hope. They are experiencing war and conflict and destruction and death on a daily basis.

When Samaritan’s Purse responds to a disaster, we oftentimes start up a DART, Disaster Assistance Response Team. For the first part of any response then, that is the primary modality that we use. That is what we did in Ukraine, and now we are transitioning from that initial emergency response into a longer-term country office.

From a long-term perspective, we are currently engaged in water, sanitation, and hygiene programming. We’re engaged in providing food in the conflict zones. We’re providing all of the necessary medical care to many displaced peoples; all sorts of different shelter programming to prepare the country for winter.

The primary focus that we have is to address the needs that arise. So even though we may be setting up long-term programs from a basic framework perspective, we will remain flexible in ensuring that we’re able to address the needs that come up. Now, some of the greater needs that we see are actually inside of what we call “the red zone”.

So inside of the areas that are dangerous, where the conflict is continuing to rage, there are people who have remained, people who are not moving, people who are in danger on a daily basis.

We have a network of hundreds of local church partners here in Ukraine that are able to extend the influence and the programming of Samaritan’s Purse out into the furthest reaches of the country. This is their communities, and their ability to come out of them to us and actually getting it into the hands of those who are suffering behind those lines, it’s something that we think is going to have a profound impact on the hope that is felt by those Ukrainians, that they know that they have not been abandoned, that they know that the love of Christ is there no matter what is happening around them.

This is a powerful thing. It’s planting seeds for harvest later. We do not know exactly what that is going to look like as the months and the years go on, but our duty, our job is to come here, speak the Word of Christ; and how God continues to work here and develop that, that is something that we’re excited to see.

Samaritan’s Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan’s Purse has helped meet the needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ. The organization serves the Church worldwide to promote the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Samaritan’s Purse International Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) program is committed to meeting the critical needs of victims of war, poverty, famine, disease, and natural disaster. We stand ready to respond at a moment’s notice whenever and wherever disaster strikes. The DART specializes in providing water, food, shelter, and medical care while sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.

CONTACT: Kaitlyn Lahm, news@samaritan.org

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