The blessings of help

Anatoliy has been displaced by the conflict in Ukraine and finds comfort in his faith
Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Anatoliy is joyful when we met him; tomorrow, his daughter is getting married. His wife and children had been living in Germany since the conflict started, but yesterday they were reunited for the first time in three months.

Anatoliy had lived and worked in his hometown of Melitopol since he was born, aside from a brief stint studying music in Moscow. But when the conflict came in February, Anatoliy got his family out of the country and then stayed behind in Lviv.

Unmoored without his music and his family, he’s found purpose in helping others. It started small – he met some family friends at the train station and helped them settle and find a place to stay. And then the day after two more people called asking for help. Soon he was receiving calls from all over Ukraine.

“I’m now realising the example of Christ.” Anatoliy smiles. “He didn’t come here to get something from people. He came to give back to wash feet and serve and this is the example I want to follow.”

Anatoliy has always been faithful. He left his job and took up music in the early 90s as a way to honour God. But when the conflict began the band disbanded, and now he spends his days helping his countrymen deal with the sudden displacement and economic effects of war.

“Sometimes when I go to the railway there aren’t as many people anymore. So, the times I have free I’m checking the chats in Lviv to see what help people need. I see what the church has to offer and if they don’t have it, I take what I can buy myself.”

Anatoliy has been helping other displaced families in Lviv and those all over Ukraine

Anatoliy has been one of the first people to receive cash assistance through World Vision’s partnership with the Baptist World Alliance in Ukraine. Together with other partner organisations and funded by the German public, World Vision and its partners are planning to reach 11,000 people between May and August with money that will allow them to buy food, medicines, and other essentials for three months.

“I’d like to express my gratitude to people who don’t live in our country, but who are still paying attention to the horrors and losses and are willing to help,” Anatoliy says. “I’m very pleased to know that there are people that took our sadness really close to heart and that they were willing to help us. It inspires me personally; it gives me wings. I heard of people praying for us in prayer marathons.”

Anatoliy took some of the money and used it to pay the utilities for his rented flat, but the other half he’s paying forward to help others.

“It’s interesting how my life turned out,” Anatoliy muses. “I’ve left 30 years dedicated to music behind and now I have a totally different life. I believe one day we will all be singing again.”

 

Our cash assistance programme is meant to cover a range of basic needs over a three-month period, and the first part of it in June was funded by AdH, donations from the German people, which will support over 11,000 people in West, Central and Eastern Ukraine.