Amid war, Ukrainians ensure orphans get food, gas supplies

MYKOLAIV, Ukraine (NewsNation Now) — The director of a Nevada-based group that runs two orphanages in Ukraine says when he arrived in the country, he found the situation was more “bleak” than he’d feared. But he said Ukrainians have shown kindness and understanding for the children even in the midst of war.

With more than 100,000 orphaned children in Ukraine, the situation is dire.

Mark Edward Davis with Abundance International said the orphanages his group works with had barely a week’s worth of food left. But generosity from Ukrainians have helped stabilize their situation — for now.

For more than 15 years, Abundance International has been a lifeline for two Ukrainian orphanages — providing money, medicine, manpower and equipment. The children in these orphanages are no older than 4.

“Right now, on the ground, because everyone is fearing that food supplies will run out, there are lines at the grocery stores that are an hour long to get through,” Davis said. “And God bless the people here. We came in, we told the manager, ‘Look, we got to get the stuff to orphans,’ so he put us at the front of the line and let us get ours first.”

Davis said the kindness did not stop there. He later found the owner of a gas station who he says opened up his “tiny reserves” for a children’s hospital and for the orphanages. Through a network of orphanage directors, Davis said they are trying to get resources to orphanages in other towns around Ukraine where children younger than 4 are being kept in basements.

“We’re getting calls for help from around the country,” Davis said. “Now we’re trying to find people in these cities who are already there — hopefully Westerners because I can take some of the donation money we’ve received and wire it right to them … So we’re trying to really create a network around the country to help these orphans be cared for.”

On Monday, Russian forces bombarded Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, and advanced their reportedly 40-mile long convoy of military equipment closer to its capital as international outrage intensified over the war. More than 500,000 people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded the country last week, according to the United Nations.

While food supplies around Ukraine are running low, Davis says the orphanage he’s working with is also concerned about power outages and their inability to cook or store food for the children in their care.

The doctor running the orphanage “is trying to see if we can get hold of using the donation money we received and go get a very expensive generator so they can keep (the stove and fridge) going in case something happens in the … war,” Davis said.

To donate to Abundance International’s Ukrainian Orphans’ Fund, click here.