Ukraine Appeal - City Church Lithuania Update
Our friends at City Church in Lithuania have been hard at work responding to the urgent needs of people fleeing Ukraine. The situation has been quite fluid and The Outreach Foundation has been following their efforts closely. We are pleased to provide you with a substantial update on their work.
City Church’s hope to receive approximately 50 orphans and workers has been temporarily put to the side. Nearly 5,000 children in Ukraine have simply vanished, without trace. Incidents of human trafficking of children have risen, which The Outreach Foundation observed during our visit to Warsaw in March. As a result, Ukraine has suspended all travel of orphans out of the country and has moved orphans to the western part of Ukraine. This is an understandable shift, but it has meant that City Church has had to shift its focus.
Please see this video which explains how God continues to lead City Church in its efforts to provide meaningful relief to Ukrainian women and children. With funds provided by The Outreach Foundation, church leadership is renting a vacant hotel that will house 18 families. Ukrainians will operate the hotel, and the church will provide ministry, clothing, medical needs beyond the basic level provided by the government, and food. This effort is in addition to the nearly 200 people who are staying in the homes of City Church members.
What about the orphans? City Church’s pastor, Saulius Karosas, is actively engaged with Ukrainian officials to find ways that could result in them receiving and caring for these children safely. We will update you once we hear of developments.
City Church’s efforts in Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania, have increased as well. City Church, with the approval of the Lithuanian government, joined with other organizations to relocate a school from Kharkiv, Ukraine to a vacant hospital in Vilnius. City Church fed nearly 100 people for almost two weeks until the new kitchen was built. City Church and other organizations are helping Ukrainian refugees land on their feet to help themselves as much as possible. Part of this effort means providing education in Ukrainian for the children who come with their mothers to Lithuania. Upwards of 150 children will be able to go to school with Ukrainian teachers as a result of this joint effort between churches and the Lithuanian government.
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