Hope Quarterly - Autumn 2023

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INSIDE UKRAINE & TURKEY

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NG CRISIS

BY ETHAN FORHETZ

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IMAGINE LIVING WITH THE FEAR OF BOMBING, AIR RAIDS, AND ROCKET ATTACKS EVERY DAY. M

illions of Ukrainians have endured that fear for more than a year. The work that Convoy of Hope is doing in Ukraine and surrounding countries is helping to make life just a little more normal. To date, more than 33 million meals and emergency supplies have been provided — valued at $60 million.

Since the war began in February 2022, it has inflicted massive damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure. Beyond the destruction of many homes, entire communities have no power or heat. In Kyiv and other major cities, rolling blackouts can last 24 to 48 hours.

“A friend and her elderly mother live on the 22nd floor of their apartment,” said Convoy of Hope partner Joel C. “When they’re without power, it’s very hard to climb back up.”

A year into the war, an estimated 8 million Ukrainian refugees have fled across Europe, and 5.4 million are internally displaced within Ukraine.

Many businesses have closed. Ukrainians fortunate enough to be employed face currency devaluation, purchasing less with the same amount of money. About 80% of people in Ukraine are on the edge of poverty. continued on p. 5

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Scan here to hear one refugee’s perspective.

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Men cannot leave the country, since they are required to defend their homeland.

Women who have fled don’t know when they can come back. This creates countless breaks in family units.

Convoy of Hope has been working to help the people of Ukraine since the war began and has provided more than 400 truckloads worth of food, hygiene supplies, winter clothing, generators, and other essentials. (See “On the Map,” pp. 9-10.) That relief effort relies on some 350 distribution points across the nation.

Initially, many resources were flown in or purchased in Europe and trucked into Ukraine from a warehouse in Poland.

With a warehouse now in Ukraine, relief has been accelerated.

“It’s a lot easier to send out multiple trucks from here than it is picking all the routes and all the destinations all the way from Poland,” said Andre, a partner in Ukraine.

Major loads reach partnering community centers, which are usually local churches. Volunteers fill minivans and small buses to bring relief to outlying areas. The risks are real. Volunteers making those deliveries wear helmets and flak jackets. A mine detonated about 20 feet from one man running a route recently. Because it was pointed away from him, only a few of the ball bearings in its blast hit his back and legs.

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‘ THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS A LACK OF WATER. IF THERE IS WATER IN A PUDDLE, PEOPLE COLLECT IT OFF THE GROUND.’ — ALEX, RELIEF COORDINATOR Scan here to learn more about how Convoy provides clean water.

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“He was grateful to be alive,” Joel said.

The war’s front line has ebbed and flowed, and Convoy’s partners use windows of opportunity to serve people living on that edge. Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, for example, has been the target of recent bombings.

“We were bringing food to about 5,000 to 6,000 people in Bakhmut, including many children,” said Alex, a local relief coordinator. “All were living in basements or underground shelters — extended family all living together. The biggest problem is a lack of water.

If there is water in a puddle, people collect it off the ground.”

Convoy was able to send food and resources to Bakhmut, including filters to make the groundwater drinkable.

In communities where distribution sites can be organised safely, usually at local churches, people line up to gratefully accept Convoy’s aid.

“People initially come to the church looking for physical aid, such as food,” Joel said. “But as they get to know the volunteers and pastors, they find encouragement and hope.”

Scan here to watch a video of Convoy’s year in Ukraine.

Scan here to see how Convoy is helping displaced Ukrainian children.

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ON THE MAP

AFTER A YEAR OF ORGANISING RELIEF FOR UKRAINIANS DISPLACED BY THE WAR, CONVOY OF HOPE HAS ...

SERVED MORE THAN 33 MILLION MEALS (TOWARD THE GOAL OF 50 MILLION MEALS).

WORKED WITH 351 PARTNERS IN 102 COMMUNITIES. DISTRIBUTED MORE THAN 1 MILLION POUNDS OF NEW CLOTHING (INCLUDING MANY WINTER COATS).

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ON THE MAP

BROUGHT HELP AND HOPE TO MORE THAN 2.9 MILLION PEOPLE. PACKED AND DELIVERED MORE THAN 1.8 MILLION DIAPERS.

SERVED DISPLACED PEOPLE IN 16 COUNTRIES. SHIPPED 109 PALLETS OF TOYS TO HELP CHILDREN COPE WITH TRAUMA.

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HELP DURING CRISIS

CONVOY OF HOPE IS SERVING EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS IN TURKEY & SYRIA

BY LEVI COSTELLO & ANNIE DENNEY

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here had not been a larger earthquake in Turkey since 1668. But the magnitude 7.8 quake that hit Turkey and Syria on February 6 was far deadlier than its predecessor. The 17th-century tremblor took some 8,000 lives. The current catastrophe has caused more than 50,000 fatalities in Turkey and more than 7,000 in Syria. continued on p. 13

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‘ CONVOY REMAINS COMMITTED TO HELPING AS MANY PEOPLE AS WE CAN FOR AS LONG AS WE CAN.’ — STACY LAMB More than 200,000 buildings were destroyed, the equivalent of nearly five Manhattans.

Hundreds of thousands of survivors took shelter wherever they could: government shelters, hotels, shopping malls, stadiums, mosques, and community centers. Many had no place to go and spent the frigid nights outside gathered around fires.

“People were without access to their most basic needs — food, water, and shelter,” says Ryan Grabill, senior director of Convoy of Hope’s International Disaster Services team.

“More than 1 million meals have been distributed.”

Convoy of Hope worked with partners and contacts throughout the impact zone to ship, procure, and distribute

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relief supplies. Clothing, tents, sleeping bags, diapers, and baby formula were distributed in communities across the region. In addition to shipping in resources from outside Turkey and Syria, Convoy procured resources locally — lentils, peas, beans, and bulgar (parboiled whole wheat) — to supply local partners and soup kitchens serving survivors.

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Among the estimated 10,000 aftershocks in the following weeks, several were large enough to bring more fatalities.

The repeated tremors only added to the daily fear and trauma of survivors. City parks and open spaces were filled with people sleeping in tents — too terrified to stay in a building.

The World Bank estimated that 1.25 million people were left homeless within three weeks of the first quake. By midMarch, the Turkish government had evacuated nearly 2 million people from the disaster area to other cities.

Aftershocks continued to rock the impact zone in March, causing more buildings to collapse and keeping tensions high. Many families congregated in makeshift camps under extremely difficult conditions.

Convoy worked to provide hygiene supplies and diapers. With the hygiene products Convoy distributes, people can keep their hands and bodies clean, brush their teeth, and take care of their hair.

This lessens the possibility of disease spreading through already vulnerable communities.

Stacy Lamb, Convoy’s vice president of Disaster Services says, “Convoy remains committed to helping as many people as we can for as long as we can.”

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