Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, many people in Ukraine and around the world have organized to help the military and war victims. Sokal has powerful volunteer movements that help internally displaced persons, transport humanitarian aid to the military and residents of towns and villages where hostilities are taking place. Now there are no indifferent people, all united for a common goal – to expel the enemy from Ukrainian soil. Evangelical Christians have also joined the volunteer movement, providing military assistance, transporting children from hotspots to safe places, and receiving refugees.
“From the first day of the war, we decided that we could serve the Ukrainians. Not far from Sokal there is a customs checkpoint with Poland – “Uhryniv-Dolhobychiv”, our volunteers from the first days organized two tents near the border – there were distributed food, diapers, baby food, sandwiches and hot tea. There was a lot of rubbish along the route to the border, our young people cleaned all the rubbish there for a few days, now it is clean.
In the House of Prayer and administrative buildings, we have converted almost all the rooms into living rooms to accommodate as many people as possible. Currently, about 200 people from all over Ukraine live here, and there are also those who temporarily stay here, spend the night and go abroad. All our people are involved in the work: some are loading, sorting humanitarian aid, others are cooking in the kitchen, and young people are currently studying at the missionary school, ”said Volodymyr Kovalchuk, a city council deputy who puts a lot of effort and money into helping fellow countrymen affected by the war.
Everyone who asks for help is welcome here, regardless of religion. Now here in Sokal, Greek Catholics, Orthodox and Christians of the Evangelical faith are praying together for the victory of Ukraine. By the way, from the first days of the war in the House of Prayer began a continuous prayer for peace in Ukraine, people are on duty, and prayer has been going on continuously for more than a month.
“We have a lot of clothes and toys for the needy, so refugees, as well as needy people from Sokal can come to us every day and take what they need. We have three meals a day, in addition to missionary students and internally displaced persons, we also feed refugees who live in Sokal in the private sector and come to us to eat. We help all people who need it and do not divide people who are not their own and others, “said Volodymyr Kovalchuk.
For all people who live here, all the necessary conditions are created: there are showers, toilets, washing machines, refrigerators. There is a playroom for children, where animators work with children.
UA🇺🇦 In the end, Mr. Volodymyr noted that people who came from other cities and live in Sokal or needy residents of our community can come to the House of Prayer (Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, behind the WOG gas station) and choose the necessary things.