Day 9 Kryvyi Rih-Knyazivka-Apostolove-Oleksandriya
After much needed sleep, we headed to Knyazivka to distribute bread and visit the rebuilding projects. We send materials and local volunteers re-roof the houses. These villages saw occupation and the fight for their freedom go back and forth over 6 different battles. Whole neighborhoods were destroyed. Most of the sheet metal gates looked like cheese graters from shrapnel. As I walked down the road I could pull shrapnel from most of the trees. We used one of the mobile kitchens to make tea and provided tea and sweets for the people of the village. We visited a few of the homes that roofs have been rebuilt, or being rebuilt, with the lumber and building materials that were recently delivered.
I got to visit with a few of the home owners who expressed their sincere thanks for the help. Svitlana told us how she was hiding a Ukrainian soldier and a neighbor snitched on her and her home was targeted. We also visited an older lady (also Svitlana) and her son who currently live in their barn. They told us they lost power March 15, 2022 and just got it back February 11.
Before we left for Apostolove, we gave a mixer and oven to Viktor, the pastor in Maharnets, along with a supply of Clif Bars.
Stopping in Apostolove we witnessed the TOW Semi-truck being unloaded. It was full of bags of firewood. This firewood will be used to heat homes and cook food. The people in the villages we visited today can’t collect firewood due to the danger of mines. Just weeks ago a fellow drove his car into the wooded area to collect wood and was killed by a mine.
We drove to Oleksandriya and stopped at Nazar and Sasha’s warehouse to pick up food bags to give to 300 refugees tomorrow. Pulled into our 1/2 star hotel before 11:00pm.
Commenti