Ukraine (MNN) — The Ukraine crisis is taking a heavy toll on the next generation. According to government figures, more than 150 children were killed and 246 wounded as of April 15. Experts say the actual numbers are likely much higher.
Death and injury are merely the beginning of compounded mental health issues and trauma children now have to process. More about that here.
Most of the Ukraine refugees sheltering in Europe are women and children. All have left fathers and brothers behind; many endured untold horrors on the way to safety.
“Moms are hopeless. They’ve left their husbands and fathers and their brothers behind to fight in Ukraine,” Greg Yoder of Keys for Kids Ministries says.
“Kids feel that (despair). They’re so afraid; they’re concerned.”
Keys for Kids is printing another 200,000 devotionals in Ukrainian and Russian so its partners can place hope in the hands of scared refugees. “They’re looking for truth; even non-Christians want answers,” Yoder says.
“We’re walking beside them and helping them grow in their faith.”
Keys needs your help to cover the printing costs. Click here for details. Most importantly, pray. Ask the Lord how He wants you to respond now that you know.
“Imagine [if] your surroundings [were] decimated. Would you want somebody to help you? Would you want someone to help your kids? Put yourself in the shoes of some of these moms, some of these kids, and say, ‘What can I do to make their lives a little bit better?’” Yoder suggests.
“It may be (providing) food; it may be providing hope in a difficult circumstance by providing Scripture, or Keys for Kids or Unlocked.”
In the header image, a Polish police officer holds a baby girl as Ukraine refugees flood across the border. (Wikimedia Commons/梁柏堅 Pakkin Leung)
