International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) announced today that with support from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, IOCC will provide immediate assistance to people in Ukraine displaced by the conflict and receiving aid through six dioceses of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
IOCC’s response to the conflict in Ukraine began in March of this year and includes work in Poland and Romania as well as Ukraine. With funding from the Archdiocese, IOCC will continue meeting emergency needs in Ukraine, particularly crucial as winter approaches.
The newest initiative will equip Church-run and community accommodation centers in Ukraine with items such as beds and mattresses, as well as household appliances like washers, dryers, and stoves. In addition, families who lost their livelihood in the conflict will receive material assistance, meals, and pastoral care and counselling through the program, while displaced people in especially vulnerable situations, including elderly persons, people with disabilities, and orphans, will receive hot meals through the winter months from a Church-run soup kitchen.
The program is projected to reach over 30,000 people in need of assistance because of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
“As shelters in Ukraine face dire shortages, and so many continue to be forced from their homes, Christ’s people are called to serve our neighbors in need,” said His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros, head of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. “Together, we can offer some very basic comfort and dignity to so many who have lost nearly everything.”
With staff on the ground there as well as in Poland and Romania, work is ongoing to address the most pressing needs and to lay the groundwork for long-term response as circumstances and needs shift in the coming years.