Ukraine’s defense ministry said on Tuesday that at least 140,000 residential buildings had been destroyed or damaged since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February, leaving more than 3.5 million people homeless.
There is at least one person who is going to do something about fixing that…
Anya Schlegle with her husband are the leaders of our Kyiv base. It was Anya who gave life to the vision of providing temporary housing to the people who lost their houses during the Russian onslaught on Kyiv. The villages that were in their way were devastated.
Listen to Anya as she describes the progress of the vision to provide these temporary shelters.
So, we are moving forward with the homes project. I love it!! It feels like a big YWAM outreach. 8 teams so far committed to come from U.S., 3 teams from Germany (YWAM Hurlach, YWAM Nuremberg), 2 from Romania (YWAM Cluj), YWAM San Diego and of course Ukraine (all YWAM locations are coming together). More teams are lining up to come in, even as far as Australia!
This is bigger and deeper than construction!
So many prayers come our way, people are getting excited to put their hands and feet to bringing Hope. We are definitely preparing hearts and paths for God to remain in the homes and in the lives. We will fill these homes with Hope and Kingdom presence.
We have 70 families lined up already to receive these shelters. And many more are on the waiting list as we don’t want to overpromise. Working closely with village councils – they are providing accommodations and cooking for us. They are so grateful, they will work with us as we get the project accomplished. We see Gods favor everywhere.
We are getting 50 foundations out it the next 2 weeks. August 23rd the teams will arrive.
We love the idea of the panel homes as we are seeing some bigger families with bigger needs. For example, the family of 7 children and a grandma now are living with different neighbors scattered around the village. We will be able to modify it, so the family stays together.
The homes will be very warm and of great quality. Although we hope that it’s a temporary solution only for a year, looking at the country’s economy we foresee, that people might have to stay in them longer. The quality of the homes will sustain through this coming winter and much longer. We want families to have a home, furnished, warm with needs covered.
Florin, YWAM Homes of Hope Romania, has ordered panels and furniture to bring from Romania for 50 homes. We want to be ready on the ground in Kyiv for 30 homes – building and furniture.
Thank you for praying and giving toward this project. Pray for safety for these teams that are coming. Thank God for the leadership of these villages for their generosity in housing and feeding these teams. Pray that we can get hundreds of these homes repaired and built before winter.
To volunteer, contact: teams@ywamkyiv.org
Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team
