HH Niranjana Swami visiting devotees in Izky village, Ukraine, June 2023.

The Share Your Care Foundation (SYCF) has released its most recent newsletter, outlining the extraordinary service it has been offering in Ukraine over the last six months (February – July). This initiative is dedicated to support the devotees who have been affected by the war in Ukraine and is under the guidance of HH Niranjana Swami, the GBC for Ukrain. It has the approval and overwhelming support of the entire GBC body. It focuses on devotee relocation from conflict areas, devotee maintenance, brahmachari support, deity seva, and food relief.

During this latest six month period, the project has provided 581 individual aid payments. To give readers a sense of the variety of needs, SYC F shared some examples of individual applications for support, “Hare Krishna, dear Vaishnavas! Recently we have just left the war zone where our whole family lived. Because of health condition, my husband can’t work, and I can’t find a job. I am an accountant, but here nothing works at all. There is no economic development,” – Marina M., 60 years old.

“I work in a canteen, distributing food, and my salary is small. My children and my mother need financial help to at least buy fruit and vegetables because all the money is spent on rent… the pension and salary only cover the rent…My children and I are afraid to go back to Kramatorsk under shelling to our home. I can’t subject them to such a danger,” – Lilamrita Devi Dasi, 41 years old.

“Hare Krishna. Please accept my obeisances. I am a pensioner, my pension is small, and prices for food, medicines, and utilities are constantly rising. I started having problems with my joints, and I need a lot of money for treatment, which I do not have enough. I thank you in advance for your help and support,” – Shri Pati Dasi 72 years old.

In particular, the newsletter highlighted one specific immediate need: Mataji Ruslana, who lost her husband, Serhii Prabhu, during the war and is now left alone with two children. You can learn more about her story and how you may help here.

The report continues, “In addition to individual payments, the Foundation used the donations collected monthly to support two Vaishnava centers where displaced devotees live, a total of 60 people. Among the major projects, we would like to highlight that the installation of power generating and storage stations for 12 temples has been completed. Worship and preaching continue in these temples regardless of whether the centralized infrastructure is operational.”

Chernivtsi, Ukraine. August 2023. HH Radhanatha Swami visited devotees in Ukrainian city Chernivtsi.

“However, the greatest blessing for the devotees in Ukraine over the past three months has been the fact that ISKCON leaders have come to visit. HH Niranjana Swami, HH Trivikrama Swami, HH Bhakti Caitanya Swami, HH Dhirasanta das Goswami, HH Radhanatha Swami,  HH Bhakti Vigynana Goswami, and HH Bhakti Raghava Swami visited Ukraine.

The devotees in Ukraine are humbled by the difficulties these elevated Vaishnavas have to undergo to come to Ukraine and are grateful to them for their compassion and mercy, kind hearts, prayers, and blessings.”

The Share Your Care Project is grateful for your support.  Please visit their website to learn more.