Outside the train station in Warsaw there are a number of tents set up by the Polish to embrace and support refugees. There are stations for hygiene items, water, and hot meals. Signs posted say that they have hot meals 24/7 offered free to refugees. This is only one of myriad examples how Poland has responded to the flood of refugees.
One of the greatest requests is for food. Shipping a generic “can collection” of grocery store food is ill-advised. Protocols say that for each Lot # we must have a FDA food certificate. We are able to purchase food in Europe thus eliminating this requirement. As much as many would respond to a can collect of food it runs the reality of being stalled and even seized or heavily fined. There are many other needed items to place into containers. We have shipped containers of food BUT they had the food certs.
The days continue to be consumed with assuring the integrity of our actions and the proper stewardship of the Lord’s money. Please remember that I am prevented from taking many photos because of security protocols. But there is much good news to share and so here is today’s helping…
Update from Romania
John,
John Durham (Cluj, Romania)
Things are going well here. The influx of refugees is much slower and more controlled than evidently the situation in Poland and at other border crossings. Greg Hogue and David Gibson from Jonesboro, AR working with Dragos and Sorina Vintila the preacher and his wife here, Adi Voicu and Tiberius (aka “TB”) have done a fantastic job getting the relief efforts set-up and moving forward.
The congregation in Cluj is providing short-term food and lodging (for approximately 7-days) and then based on the desires of their guests, they assist them in making their way south to the congregations that are equipped to handle those who desire to stay in Romania or help them with the next leg of their journey to Germany, Spain etc. by providing transportation to the railway station/airport and providing money as necessary.
The short-term guests are housed in a very nice apartment complex next door to the church with overflow accommodations handled by using rooms at the hotel where I am staying. They only charge $30/night with meals provided by the church at 10 AM; 2 PM and 7 PM.
A food pantry has been set-up to provide food for refugees who may have their own apartment or may be staying with friends or relatives. We have two well-stocked refrigerators which were purchased yesterday for perishable foods along with fresh fruits and vegetables and canned goods and other essential items – flour, sugar, salt, etc.
Larissa has been invaluable to our guests. She is not only able to welcome them and talk with them in Ukrainian but also is privy to their more private conversations where they discuss their feelings. Many are concerned that they are imposing on their Romanian hosts. She has also established a number of relationships with the people and is able to provide a level of comfort and reassurance that can best be handled woman-to-woman.
She is also translating information on services obtainable to the refugees in Romania so they can more easily access the help that is available and is setting up a webpage in Ukrainian advertising our food pantry and the services offered by the congregation here.
We will be taking relief supplies to Chernivtsi on Friday which hopefully will include tourniquets requested by the military in Dnipro along with other supplies requested by Alexander Rodichev. I also plan to drop off the medication I brought for Roman Gensitsky, our handicapped friend who lives in Tlumach. His cousin lives in Chernivtsi and I can leave his meds with her.
We have requested Ukrainian-language Bibles from the church in Chernivtsi to give out to our guests here in Cluj.
I am teaching English classes each day at 1600 hours. This not only is an opportunity to use the Bible as a textbook but also provides a much-needed distraction from the stress of not knowing what will happen to the displaced people here.
Finally, it may be feasible to ship additional supplies into Romania although on a much smaller scale that is required in Poland. Once we are able to get the existing container through customs and on its way to Ukraine, we can determine if it is practical to send additional items in through Constanta or into Bucharest or Cluj by air.
Let me know if you need anything!
God bless and please stay safe!
Loadings scheduled
Charita returned to the USA Tuesday. She hit the ground running and has begun scheduling new loadings. The first of Nashville’s 10,000 buckets will be loaded on March 30 at the HHI warehousing facilities. Also another load is scheduled out of our Montgomery, AL warehouse on March 31.
Buckets Campaign
We continue to have congregations reach out to be a part of our bucket campaign. Brethren from New Mexico that we have known for years want to get involved!
Good afternoon.
Glenn Mabley (Sun Valley church of Christ)
Hope this email finds you, and your family, healthy and happy. I have been following your dad’s updates from Poland. Here is my question: are the 5-gallon buckets being utilized special as far as markings? Or, are they just normal 5-gallon buckets? If marked specifically for the Ukraine, how can I get at least 75? If not marked, how did you get your hands on so many? Also, please send me the flyer again on what the contents should be. The Sun Valley church of Christ would like to assist in any way we can.
Thanks in advance
Louisville, KY meds/pharms
We have had some movement on the medical supplies & pharms being offered in Louisville. The pallets have grown to 272 at this time. Here are the specifics on the pallets. From Cipla total inventory is: 272 pallets; 48 x 40 x 50; total weight 149,344 lbs; average weight per pallet is 549lb.
Thankfully, God has a few “Esther’s” positioned in UPS “for such a time as this”! Even though these are doing all they can to find free air cargo, we will still need to begin moving these asap to a storage facility. Please contact Gif (770-596-6545) or Johnny (334) 868-1900 if you can assist in moving these pallets—we need box trucks, trailers, large pick-ups, etc. that can move these pallets. ALSO…those on site need to think of how to get an available forklift because I don’t think even the KY or IN boys can lift these pallets by muscle!
Continue to keep us in your prayers, especially the Ukrainian people.
John L. Kachelman, Jr.
(Warsaw, Poland)
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