Update: Responding to Flooding After Dam Collapse

Samaritan’s Purse is deploying our DC-8 aircraft to transport more than 18 tonnes of relief supplies to Ukraine after a critical dam near the frontlines of the war collapsed. Tens of thousands of people have been affected and evacuations are ongoing. It has created a humanitarian crisis with severe flooding, shortages of drinking water, destroyed homes, and the threat of landmines washing into neighbourhoods.

We are grateful that our teams were able to respond immediately, mobilising partners and local churches to serve people in desperate need on the same day as the dam’s collapse. Staff based in Ukraine are also working tirelessly to meet the desperate needs of families who are suffering. We are supporting local partners who are conducting water rescues for flood-stranded families while also distributing food, blankets, and other critically-needed relief items. The cargo plane is airlifting additional resources such as blankets, hygiene kits, water filters, solar lights, and jerry cans. The DC-8 is flying from North Carolina, US, and landing in Poland and then supplies are being trucked into Ukraine’s flood-affected Kherson region.

“As the war in Ukraine continues to bring suffering, destruction and death, my heart breaks for the families who are caught in this crisis,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. “And now thousands of families are dealing with the disaster of this severe flooding. We are sending these life-saving supplies in Jesus’ Name and want to remind the people of Ukraine that they have not been forgotten by God. Please pray for an end to this war and for our staff and partners who are working around the clock to minister to those affected by the recent floods.”

Donate

During a year of war in Ukraine, Samaritan’s Purse has provided food, water, medical care, shelter materials, and more to over 9 million people.

We continue bringing relief to Ukrainians whose lives have been torn apart by the conflict. Many people are now surviving the winter in war-damaged homes without basics like heat and electricity. Some, living closer to the fighting, have no steady supply of food, as they live without jobs and often transportation. Samaritan’s Purse is on the ground helping in Jesus’ Name by providing food, water, tarp, plywood, and stoves.

“Millions of Ukrainians are still suffering a year after the conflict began. Their needs are more severe each day as they struggle to have enough food and basic necessities,” said Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham. “Samaritan’s Purse is committed to helping Ukraine. We established a country office there, and our team is working hard to bring relief in Jesus’ Name. Please join me in praying for peace in Ukraine and that the people we are serving will know that God loves them and has not forgotten them in this dark time.”

Since war erupted on 24 February 2022, Samaritan’s Purse have also met a variety of urgent medical needs. Early on, we operated an Emergency Field Hospital in Lviv to help the millions displaced by conflict. Later last year, we ran a similar field hospital in a recently liberated area of eastern Ukraine. We are also providing medical training and tons of supplies on an ongoing basis.

Donate

93,800⁺

Tonnes of Food Distributed

83,279,000⁺

Liters of Clean Water Produced

303,000⁺

Bibles

23,000⁺

Patients Served by Our Teams

6,900⁺

Wood Stoves

43

Airlift Missions Completed

People in eastern Ukraine are suffering terribly. Eighty-three-year-old Pavlo* and his wife Oksana have been married 55 years; they now live in a neighbour’s house because their own home was completely destroyed in the war. Yet, with no power or heat and a leaky roof, Pavlo said temperatures inside their new residence plummeted well below freezing this winter. So, the couple was overjoyed when a Samaritan’s Purse partner recently tarped the roof, made repairs, and gave them one of our wood-burning stoves and a solar light. Today it’s balmy near the fire. “We’re so grateful to Samaritan’s Purse,” Pavlo said. “They gave us hope. Now we feel like we’re alive.”

“We’re so grateful to Samaritan’s Purse. They gave us hope. Now we feel like we’re alive.” – Pavlo

Our brave church partners are delivering food, tarping roofs, and offering other urgently needed supplies deep within the conflict zone. Many of them also work with Samaritan’s Purse through Operation Christmas Child. Together we distributed close to 500,000 gift-filled shoeboxes in Ukraine last year, with about 400,000 more to be delivered to children in need during 2023.

We’ve also sent thousands of children’s backpacks to Ukraine aboard our DC-8 aircraft. Included inside are a soft bear that says “God Loves You” in their language on the front, plus crayons, a sketch pad, a knit hat, a ball, and a booklet in Ukrainian that tells them God loves them.

More than 7 million refugees from Ukraine have spread across Europe, the United States, Canada, and other countries worldwide. Aiding this migration, Samaritan’s Purse has airlifted more than 260 people from Poland to Canada with our DC-8 aircraft. Many millions are also internally displaced due to the conflict.

*Names changed for security reasons.

Photos

Articles

Videos

Donate