Ukraine (MNN) — If you were asked to name the top countries in the world suffering the worst, would you name Ukraine? If not, it might surprise you to know the recent Gallup poll did.
Gallup Poll Results
The Gallup poll is based around hope for the future. Results are calculated by answers to these questions; “How do you perceive your current life?” and “How do you perceive your future?”. Needless to say, there hasn’t been much hope coming out of Ukraine.
(Photo courtesy of SGA via Facebook)
People are also asked to rate their current lives from zero to ten. A ten rating means having the best life while a zero means the worst possible life. Ratings between zero to four are considered suffering.
In Ukraine, 41 percent of the people rated their lives at a four or below. This puts the country at third for the worst suffering country, just behind Haiti at 43 percent and South Sudan at 47 percent.
The Slavic Gospel Association’s Bret Laird was recently in the Ukraine and explains, “The Gallup poll is really interesting in rating Ukraine as third in the most suffering country. I don’t think the news coverage reflects that, but it should, having been there personally, recently, and seeing it first-hand…. There’s just a level of destruction of infrastructure and other things, which means, the consequences of this war are going to go on for decades.”
Consequences of War
Industrial areas have not been exempt from the bombings in eastern Ukraine. Pipes, which were once used to transfer chemicals, have been punctured by the fighting. Chemicals from the pipes now leak into the earth, poisoning the area’s soil and water. Laird says a lot of the fighting is happening around a massive chemical factory. Just one hit to this factory could cause an environmental disaster.
Between the fighting — the consequences of which will take decades to heal — and the ruined land, it’s not hard to see why so many Ukrainians have lost hope in the future.
However, there’s a flip side to this suffering, and that’s the Gospel.
Finding Hope in Ukraine
“You realize that we need to come and we need to show the love of Christ by being His hands and feet and giving bread to those who are hungry, and water to those who are thirsty,” Laird shares. “But most important of all, those who are under such a constant dread of death need to hear the words of eternal life.”
(Photo courtesy of SGA)
SGA comes alongside national churches in Ukraine to help meet both the physical and spiritual needs of the Ukrainian people through its Crisis Evangelism fund.
This fund helps supplement churches in providing food and water for those in need. Furthermore, the funds also allow Ukrainian churches to hold outreaches in eastern Ukraine where not only food is shared, but the Gospel as well.
How To Help
Will you donate to SGA’s Crisis Evangelism Fund? Even just a couple of dollars can make a huge impact in the Ukrainian churches’ ability to share the Gospel and meet needs.
Regardless of if you can give, please pray for the people of Ukraine. Pray for the fighting to stop, the war to end, and restoration to begin. Also, please pray for the Christians in Ukraine to be strong in both their faith and their ministries. Finally, please pray for SGA’s Crisis Evangelism fund to be well-supported as they serve the churches and people of Ukraine.
To donate, click here!
Read more on the crisis in Ukraine here!
To learn more about the needs in Ukraine and the Crisis Evangelism fund, click here!
How do I join?