A small town Maryinka is just a few kilometers from Donetsk which is occupied by pro-Russian separatists and some units of Russian regular army. Since July Maryinka is regularly shelled from direction of Donetsk. Many houses are ruined,infrastructure is destroyed, there is no gas, and central heat is not functioning,there are problems with water and electricity, there is no work, or no money to buy food. People are facing starvation. With temperatures now dropping down to -18C death from freezing is as genuine as death from shelling. Many people absorb moved to the basements of their cold houses to stay safe from night bombings. Volunteers from International Partnerships Christian Mission and Support Army of Ukraine Foundation in cooperation with CIMIC group (Civil-Military Cooperation) brought humanitarian aid to Maryinka. Food packages were given out quickly. The hardest moment was to announce that no more food was left. It wasn’t just disappointing. We could see despair in people’s eyes. Some women cried. On our way home we were already planning our next trip and strategizing how to multiply our efforts and resources. Its mind-blowing to hear about starvation in the Eastern regions of Ukraine. It’s tough to believe that it could be happening in our country,Ukraine, in this day and age. But it’s one thing to hear about hardships from TV news. It’s different to look into a mother’s eyes full of anxiety that she wouldn’t be able to feed her kids. It breaks your heart to look into the pleading face of an elderly women asking you to find at least some food when the humanitarian aid truck is already empty. It’s tough to look at the sagging backs of people as they walk absent empty handed into the cold ruined streets of Maryinka. We helped just a few people to bag through a few more days, and but the needs are overwhelming,and not just in Maryinka, but in hundreds of other places ruined by war.
Source: cnn.com