by Brigid Rowlings, LHI Communications Director
This photo of an apartment complex that was hit by a Russian missile on Saturday, January 14 was taken by a partner on the ground who was there to distribute LHI aid to displaced residents.
On Monday morning, I opened my Slack messages to find that Serhii, LHI’s Ukraine country director, had sent video and pictures of an apartment complex in Dnipro that had been hit by a missile. I’ve always been a news junkie—something that now serves me well in my role as LHI communication director—so I’d been following Russia’s weekend attacks on Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro. But seeing the video and photos that Serhii sent along hit me so much harder and brought me so much closer to the reality of life in Ukraine right now.
According to the Associated Press, at least 29 civilians died as a result of the attack, and over 70 people were wounded. As of Monday morning, over 40 people were still missing. Of course, those numbers are staggering, especially since each represents one human life. The number that really stood out to me, however, was the number of people who had lived in the apartment complex—1,700—who were now homeless in the bitter Ukrainian winter.
What shook me further was reading in the Washington Post that Dnipro had been a refuge for displaced people from Russian-occupied Mariupol as well as Donetsk and Luhansk, areas on the front lines. I don’t know if any of the people who lived in the apartment building were people who’d fled Mariupol, Donetsk, or Luhansk. I do know that those people who had relocated to Dnipro in search of safety are now likely doing an impossible calculus as they try to figure out what to do next.
LHI arrived quickly to the emergency response station near the apartment complex in Dnipro. These boxes contain warm clothing, baby items, and personal care items—all things displaced residents lost.
It really hasn’t been easy immersing myself in all things Ukraine. I can’t imagine what it is like for my colleagues who live in Ukraine and neighboring Moldova or who visit Ukraine periodically to assess the needs on the ground. What keeps me going is knowing this work matters. When I see images of boxes of aid with the Lifting Hands International label sitting just yards away from the apartment building that was bombed, I know that telling all of you about the work that Lifting Hands International does matters. I want you to know that because of you, our supporters and volunteers, and the partnerships we’ve worked so hard to establish on the ground in Ukraine, almost overnight we had sleeping bags, socks, personal hygiene items, diapers and other essentials ready to distribute to the people who had lost everything. This is no small thing.
Thank you for continuing to read the stories we share with you and to care about not only Ukrainian people, but all people who could use a lifting hand.
To learn more about our emergency response in Ukraine, click here.