Christian Aid Ministries, Mennonite Central Committee help Ukraine, surrounding countries

Local organizations, including Christian Aid Ministries and Mennonite Central Committee, are doing what they can to provide humanitarian relief for refugees in war-torn Ukraine and surrounding countries.

Other organizations such as Catholic Charities are headquartered in Cuyahoga County, so local relief efforts are funneled through national offices.

More: Ukraine war creates more uncertainty for Ohio farmers as gas, grain, fertilizer costs rise

Christian Aid Ministries (CAM), headquartered in Berlin, established a presence in Ukraine in 2001 and has many connections with churches and other contacts throughout the country. Requests for help continue to come their way, according to CAM spokesman Weston Showalter.

Showalter explained that CAM’s American staff was evacuated prior to the military invasion. They are in daily contact with Ukrainian national staff. Together, they are working with churches to organize humanitarian aid distributions for displaced Ukrainians.

The greatest cry is for food, he said. Additionally, they are working to provide Christian literature for displaced Ukrainians in the western part of the country.

“We are also working with partner groups to assist refugees in various countries surrounding Ukraine,” Showalter added.

Christian Aid Ministries staff members helping refugees in Romania

Staff members in Romania are working to help and house refugees who are arriving in Romania and Moldova. They are purchasing food and other aid to send into Ukraine’s war zone. They plan to provide blankets, hygiene kits, adult briefs, canned meat and bedding.

Many Ukrainian refugees are fleeing to Moldova, an impoverished country bordering Ukraine. With the extra strain this influx of refugees is placing on an already needy people, CAM is doing what it can to help.

“Our Ukrainian employees, though displaced themselves, have a strong desire to help those in need,” Showalter said. “They are working to purchase food for displaced people and find ways to safely distribute aid. Food is becoming scarce, especially in areas near the fighting.

“We are working to supply Bibles, Bible story books and Christian literature inside Ukraine and to Ukrainian refugees in other countries,” he added. “Our desire is to encourage suffering Christians and point others to God in this distressing time.”

CAM is asking for continued prayers for the people of Ukraine.

Mennonite Central Committee accepting donations for Ukraine

Jennifer Steiner, MCC Great Lakes communications coordinator reports that MCC is accepting donations for a response in Ukraine. Mennonite Central Committee is headquartered in Goshen, Indiana, but operates locally in Kidron at the MCC Material Resources Center and MCC Connections Thrift Shop.

“We are assessing the changing situation with local partners to determine the appropriate response,” she said. “MCC’s response will be focused on a longer-term scale-up of existing programs that support vulnerable people and extending those services to internally displaced populations.

“It will likely include psycho-social support and trauma healing, temporary emergency housing, emergency distributions of locally purchased emergency supplies such as blankets, and distribution of food packages,” Steiner continued. “MCC also plans to resume shipments of material resources once the in-country conditions are stable enough to do so.”

MCC’s local partners, primarily in the southern and central areas of Ukraine, have started distributing food and other supplies like diapers, fuel, medication and mattresses to people in need in their communities. These partners are responding generously and creatively, even though basic supplies are very limited.

The best way for people to respond is through financial donations at: donate.mcc.org/ukraine.

MCC partners in Ukraine are meeting 'essential and immediate needs'

Linda Herr, MCC area director for Europe and the Middle East, reports that MCC partners in Ukraine are meeting “essential and immediate needs on the ground” where they are.

"We are seeing a very local response," Herr said in a release. "They are bringing mattresses to people who are sleeping in basements or stairwells, which are serving as makeshift bomb shelters. They are setting up rooms in schools that provide shelter for people on the move. Partners are also providing fuel for vehicles and food for families on their way to other, more secure parts of the country.”

With ports blocked by Russian military forces, and no air access, supplies are hard to come by in Ukraine. MCC partners are focusing on what they can do in the moment, purchasing what they can find and transporting supplies in whatever vehicles they have available.

While MCC partners are finding creative ways to provide emergency relief, they also are working with MCC to plan medium- and long-term responses to the devastation. Future projects will likely address needs in the areas of food, shelter and trauma care, especially for those who are being displaced by violence.

"It's humbling to be between the people who want to give and the people who are seeing the need, who are trying to get resources into people's hands," Herr added. "But the partners, the people in Ukraine, they're telling me they're tired. So many people have left, and for those who remain, there is so much work yet to do.

"Please pray for the people here. Every minute this conflict continues, the humanitarian impacts worsen,” she continued. “Pray for peace. And pray that our partners will continue to have the strength to carry on their good work."

Steiner said many churches and individuals in northeast Ohio support MCC by donating financially to MCC, by volunteering or shopping at MCC Connections (the MCC Thrift Shop in Kidron) and by donating kits and comforters through the MCC Material Resources Center in Kidron.

Red Cross helping families impacted by the Ukraine-Russia conflict

As fighting intensifies in Ukraine, the global Red Cross network is helping families impacted by the conflict, according to Regional Communications Director Jim McIntyre, based in Cleveland.

The International Red Cross teams are aiding in many ways, such as delivering food and hygiene parcels to families fleeing; providing first aid training for thousands of people sheltering in metro stations and bomb shelters in Ukraine, McIntyre said.

Teams are helping to evacuate people with disabilities as well as assisting first responders to save lives in Ukraine.

They are distributing food, water, first aid supplies, fuel for heating and medical supplies.

The Red Cross also is providing those who fled the country with SIM cards for their cell phones, so they can stay in touch with loved ones.

Volunteers in Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Belarus, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Bosnia and Herzegovina are working around the clock to provide food, water, bedding, clothes and emergency relief items, medical care and mental health support to those fleeing Ukraine and seeking safety in neighboring countries, McIntyre added.

"For its part, the American Red Cross has deployed international crisis responders to Poland, Moldova, Hungary and Romania to provide humanitarian relief in support of the international Red Cross operation helping families who fled their homes," McIntyre said. "These highly trained crisis responders — who are lending skills such as information management, GIS systems, cash relief, communications, and leadership — are supporting on-the-ground relief efforts alongside local teams, including the Polish Red Cross, Moldovan Red Cross and Romanian Red Cross."

He added that in line with its work supporting military families, the American Red Cross has sent trained staff to Europe to support emergency communication needs of U.S. military members, so they can stay in touch with family members back home.

The Red Cross Hero Care Network is a Congressionally-chartered program that connects service members and their families in times of need. Red Crossers also are distributing comfort kits, containing hygiene items and other necessities to service members and U.S. State Department staff.

Catholic Charities discussing relief efforts to Ukraine

Catholic Charities Wooster Site Director Sheryl Villegas explained that senior leadership in Cuyahoga County is meeting to discuss relief efforts.

Being a part of the Diocese of Cleveland, Catholic Charities is headquartered in Cuyahoga County

"We have our migration and refugee services through Cuyahoga County, and those services can also be available to us," Villegas said. "We don't typically settle a lot of refugees and immigrants in Wayne County. In order to have a resettlement, you have to have a community that people will feel comfortable in. You've got the Ukraine community in Parma.

"Migration and Refugee Services is not yet resettling any Ukrainian Refugees that have fled Ukraine due to war," she added. "We are waiting for updates from the State Department to see when they may start coming. In the meantime, we are asking people to donate to Catholic Relief Services."

0CRS is on the ground in Europe assisting Ukrainians in need. The link is: https://support.crs.org/donate/donate-ukraine.

Habitat for Humanity is another local charity with a worldwide reach. Locally, Nikki Nemerovsky of Wooster Habitat for Humanity reports no local efforts, as they, too, operate through larger cities like Cleveland for international projects.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Local organizations doing their part to help Ukrainian refugees