Ukraine: The World is with You, Part 1 of 4

In the five months since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the world has witnessed the atrocities and suffering the war has inflicted on the innocent Ukrainian people. According to the United Nations, as of July 4, the incessant bombing and destruction have caused more than 12 million people to leave their homes, with over 5.2 million seeking refuge in other countries, such as Poland, Moldova, Hungary and Romania. These displaced people as well as those staying behind struggle to get daily food and basic necessities.

Fortunately many kind-hearted individuals around the world have stepped in to provide Ukraine with humanitarian aid. Our beloved Supreme Master Ching Hai and our Association members have been praying for the Ukrainian people and rendering assistance and support in any way possible. As of June 2022, Supreme Master Ching Hai has contributed more than US$285,000 for Ukrainian relief. Master also conveyed the following message: “We donated to Ukraine for essentials, hope others would do so as well.”

In humble support of the noble Ukrainians, our Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association members from Taiwan (Formosa) launched a “Send Love to Ukraine!” campaign to collect donations at a local Loving Hut vegan shop in early March. With contributions from our Association members, including from overseas, as well as the local Taiwanese (Formosan) community, relief supplies worth US$71,000 were gathered, comprised of non-perishable food items, new warm clothing, blankets, and hygiene products.

As of April 11, an additional €310,000 (US$338,000) was raised among our Association members around the world, enabling a relief team with participants from Austria, Canada, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, and the United States to carry out relief work in Moldova. In addition, the relief team donated more than US$10,000, along with vegan food and supplies, to two animal-people shelters housing the companions of Ukrainian refugee families.

Our Association members from Rimini responded to the Italian immigration office’s requests for essentials, with hundreds of bottles of water and fruit juice, along with home-made vegan sandwiches. Meanwhile, our Association members from the United Kingdom and Ireland met up with local initiates in Warsaw, Poland, and delivered €1,000 worth of vegan food and hygiene products to the train and bus stations, where many refugees were arriving. Furthermore, another relief team from Poland bought and sent vegan food supplies to a vegan restaurant in Lviv, Ukraine that is serving free food to refugees.

Since as early as March, our Hungarian Association members have been working on various relief efforts, with several housing Ukrainian refugees in their homes. Collaborating with other charities, the Hungarian team also sent hundreds of kilograms of vegan food, hygiene supplies and other items to Batrad, a village in western Ukraine. Necessities and vegan sweets were also sent to an orphanage there. In response to a request from doctors working in the Ukrainian war zone, they purchased an all-terrain ambulance jeep, equipped with personal hygiene items.