03/16/2022
Hubert Yates - Disaster Relief Director
SBC's SEND Relief Expands Ukraine Crisis Response
Mississippi Baptists continue to observe the unfolding conflict in Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis that it is creating. Because of the close ties developed from years of mission/ministry connections with Ukrainian pastors, churches, and educational institutions, this situation is hitting close to home for Mississippi Baptists. Send Relief, a partnership crisis ministry of the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board (IMB) and North American Mission Board (NAMB), is coordinating the Southern Baptist Convention’s response and providing updates on the situation, needs, and the planned response.
The human and socio-economic costs of the ongoing hostilities continue to mount, worsening with each passing day. Between 4 a.m. on February 24th and midnight on March 11th, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reports at least 1,581 civilian causalities, including 579 killed. The actual number of civilian casualties across Ukraine is likely much higher than officially reported by OHCHR, as many reports are still pending corroboration.
Scores of homes, schools, hospitals, and other critical infrastructure have been hit by military attacks across Ukraine. OHCHR has received credible reports of cluster munitions being used in populated areas, including at the Central City Hospital in Vuhledar in Donetska oblast (Government-controlled areas, GCA). OHCHR also reports that cluster munition attacks have been reported in several districts of Kharkiv (Kharkivska oblast, east).
Larger scale evacuations continue to be carried out in parts of eastern and northern Ukraine, although they have been repeatedly delayed due to active hostilities in some of the hardest-hit areas, like Mariupol (Donetska oblast, east). At the same time, the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance continues to be scaled-up, reaching over 600,000 conflict affected people whose needs continue to grow by the hour.
Since February 24th, around 4.4 million people have been forcibly displaced in Ukraine, including 2.5 million refugees who have fled to other countries, as reported by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and an estimated 1.9 million people internally displaced, according to the Ukraine Protection Cluster. Most of the refugees are women, children, and the elderly. Eighteen million people are being affected by this crisis and an estimated six million people need critical aid.
Send Relief continues to be in contact with church and national partners on the ground and the Send Relief’s response to this major crisis continues to increase. Send Relief began responding with food relief before the invasion and continues to collaborate with national partners to provide food, shelter, transportation, medical supplies, clothing, and trauma ministry to those displaced and impacted by the crisis. Send Relief has expanded response to displaced people in Poland, Moldova, Hungary, Romania, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Total resources committed, planned, and in progress is $642,850.00. Currently Send Relief has response resources committed in nineteen areas and is seeking to develop a 20th area in a partnership collaboration that would seek to get critical supplies to the Baptist Seminary in Lviv and the Baptist Union in Ukraine.
Send Relief is seeking to respond to humanitarian needs caused by the conflict and to minister to the multitudes displaced by this continued war. Send Relief has released funding for immediate feeding, shelter, clothing, basic supplies, and transportation needs of impacted populations in Ukraine and neighboring countries and anticipates the needs to increase for those displaced by the conflict in Ukraine and neighboring countries.
The Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) from the North Carolina Baptist Convention’s Disaster Relief ministry has finished assessment and presented a response strategy in Poland utilizing SBDR volunteers with the potential opportunities for church and medical volunteers. The DART team has identified three locations where teams from the US SBDR will deploy and assist in working with refugees in Poland. The response plan has been accepted by Polish Baptist leadership, IMB, and Send Relief involved in a final debriefing in Poland:
• Location 1 – Warsaw – a team of 10 -12 volunteers will work with local churches who are ministering to refugees in the following areas: Health screening, assist with cooking, cleaning, working with children, and any distribution needed. This team would be a mobile team traveling to multiple sites throughout the week to assist where needed. The teams will consist of: a Coordinator (or a married couple), 2 medical professionals, 2 children’s workers, 2 site assist helpers. At all times any of these team members may find themselves doing other responsibilities. North Carolina Baptist Disaster Relief (NCBDR) will be coordinating this work. The first team will arrive on Monday, March 28.
• Location 2 – Chelm – a team of 8-10 volunteers from Texas Baptist Men Disaster Relief (TBM DR) will work with the church to assist in the over 200 volunteers who lodge at the church in the following areas: Health screening, assist with cooking, cleaning, working with children and working in the warehouse accepting donations and sorting donations. Volunteers would lodge and eat meals at the church. The teams will consist of a Coordinator (or a married couple), 2 medical professionals, 2 children’s workers, 2 site assist helpers and 2 warehouse workers. At all times any of these team members could be finding themselves doing other responsibilities. Texas Baptist Men SBDR to coordinate this work. First Team to arrive on March 16.
• Location 3 – Gdansk – a team of 4-6 volunteers will work with 1st Baptist Church, Gdansk, to assist with 40+ refugees by maintaining the hosting site, cleaning, preparing and serving food, and donations management. Ohio Baptist Disaster Relief (OHBDR) and Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief (LABDR) are the state coordinators for Western Europe and have agreed to coordinate this site supported by volunteers from Mississippi Baptist Disaster Relief (MBDR) and Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief (KBDR) The first team to arrive will be on March 28 and will consist of volunteers from Mississippi Baptist Disaster Relief (MBDR).
Coordinating states will develop a rotation schedule for their responding volunteers with each team expected to be on site for one week. Individual volunteers, supported through their churches, associations, and/or conventions, will need to cover all costs related to airlines, rental vehicles, translators, lodging and meals.
In coordination with Louisiana and Ohio Baptist Disaster Relief, Mississippi Baptist Disaster Relief will be providing the first team for the Gdansk, Poland site. The team will arrive on site on March 28th and remain for one week. As the rotation develops with Louisiana, Ohio, and Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief teams, Mississippi will deploy a team every fourth week. It is anticipated the staffing needs of the response will continue for another six to nine months at a minimum.
The SBDR DART Team also identified the potential need for volunteers at additional sites in Poland and additional sites may continue to opened as the response continues to develop. Send Relief is also working with IMB leaders in Romania and Moldova and will be deploying medical and church volunteers to these areas.
The best current way for Southern Baptists to respond is by praying and giving. Leaders in the field are not requesting any items to be collected or shipped for response. Be mindful that the purchase of resources in Europe is a much better way to obtain resources and much better practice of stewardship. Currently, Ukrainian refugees are spreading across Western Europe, but Send Relief has not learned of any plans to move large numbers of refugees to the United States. Keep in mind that most refugees are women and children and staying in Europe enhances the ability of the displaced to be reunited with husbands and fathers at a later time.
Prayer Requests:
• Pray for peace in Ukraine and Russia.
• Pray for increasing numbers of people being displaced.
• Pray for God to change the hearts of those in power in Russia.
• Pray for God's protection for believers serving and ministering on the front lines of this crisis.
• Pray for those suffering in the areas of active conflict and for those who have lost loved ones.
• Pray that God will open people to the hope of Christ through this difficult season in their lives.
• Pray that the displaced can find a shelter and basic needs as they flee from the conflict.
• Pray for minority groups being displaced, who are often forgotten and dis-enfranchised.
• Pray for women and children displaced from home without husbands and fathers, who are often the primary providers in these families.
• Pray that partners and the local church will have wisdom and strength during this time.
• Pray for local churches and partners in Poland, Moldova, Hungary, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia as they seek to help those fleeing and traumatized by war.
• Pray for the SBDR DART team and the SBDR State Convention Teams as they respond and assist.
• Pray that as we serve together and offer compassionate ministry in these difficult circumstances that all we do would glorify our great Lord and Savior.
To Give:
Gifts in support of the Ukraine Crisis Response may be given through the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board (utilizing the Church Mission Giving Designation Form (Pink Sheet)) designating International Disaster Relief/Ukraine Conflict Response. Submit to MBCB, P. O. Box 530, Jackson, MS 39204. Gifts to the MBCB will be utilized to support the ministry needs of MBDR/MBCB teams assisting in Poland, support the other response sites with funding for ministry needs, and assist Send Relief with purchasing supplies for distribution in the affected countries.
Individual gifts may be given through the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board website designating International Disaster Relief/Ukraine Conflict Response or directly to SEND Relief online at: https://www.sendrelief.org/projects/ukraine/?utm_content=sendrelief&utm_medium=web&utm_source=web&utm_campaign=ukraine
(Compiled from SBC/SEND Relief Briefings Date: 3/13/2022)
Overview After 8 years of ongoing conflict, Russia has launched a wide-ranging war on Ukraine, rolling in tanks and troops into their neighbors to the West. The invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces continues to intensify. The war could cause at least 5 million people to be displaced and has already...
