Ukraine, Russia, and FAQ For NSI

Since news of the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia has spread to the west, New Song Int. has received countless questions concerning our role as a ministry there. In this post, we will do our best to answer these frequently asked questions and invite you to pray with us for the future of Ukraine and its people.

The History of Ukraine & Russia:

There is a very long history of tension between what is now Russia and Ukraine, including genocide against the Ukrainian people by the Soviet government in 1932-1933. Ukraine has been an independent country since 1991 after the Soviet Union collapsed. The capital city of Kyiv has existed since 482, while Moscow has only existed since 1147. Ukraine as a whole has been mentioned in history since the 12th century. A thousand years ago, Ukraine was the center of the Kyivan Rus, the first great Slav civilization. 

“Ukraine” in Ukrainian is Україна (pronunciation: ooh-kra-ee-nah) meaning “borderland” or “on the edge”, and refers to the fact that Ukraine has been a borderland throughout history. Ukraine was split between Russia and Poland from the mid-17th century to the end of the 18th century, between Russia and Austria through the 19th century, and between Russia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Romania between the two world wars. Ukraine would very much like to protect its independence.

  
Why is Russia Invading Ukraine?

Simply put, Russia doesn’t like the fact that Ukraine has been making progress in maintaining its autonomy and turning away from the remaining old Soviet ways of thinking. Ukraine has been working to join NATO and the EU to make economic and military alignments with the west. We won’t dive too far into the complex history and politics in this newsletter, but we will share some great information and resources below for those who would like to learn more.

Informative Resources:

This article offers some great insight into the current situation in Ukraine.

Borderland by Anna Reid is a wonderful read on the overall history of Ukraine and helps to offer a better understanding of the relationship and growing tension between Russia and Ukraine. (Bonus, you can choose to support New Song International when you shop through Amazon Smile.)

Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom is a fantastic and highly recommended documentary about the civil rights movement and unrest in 2013 and 2014.

The Increasing Need:

It’s no surprise that wars will inevitably put already at-risk families under an even greater strain. Because of this, we expect increasing numbers of children to be put in institutions, especially since many fathers will be called to the front lines and have to leave their families behind. Not to mention the ripple effects of war in the economy and daily lives of Ukrainians, which will probably lead to more families being unable to buy food and medications, increased drug and alcohol abuse, increased levels of all types of abuse, potentially a harder time accessing medical care, and so many more ways that life in Ukraine could get increasingly challenging. 

Our Immediate Response:

We firmly believe that God has called us to Ukraine for such a time as this. Kelly, Leah, Harris, Gabe, and New Song International’s Board of Directors have been praying about how God is calling New Song to respond in the midst of war and many unknowns. We are actively pursuing opportunities that would allow us to partner together with existing organizations and skilled community leaders in Ukraine to better serve the immediate needs of families in need.

New Song International’s mission statement is that we’re dedicated to serving orphans and vulnerable children in Ukraine by meeting the physical, mental, and emotional needs of each child that comes into our care (or crosses our path), and to advocate on their behalf for a forever family. 

Right now, all families need support. All children are vulnerable.

The very heart of New Song Int. is to help prevent children from becoming orphaned and to help preserve biological families. Children across Ukraine are now at a greater risk of entering into the orphanage system. We, with the help of numerous organizations we’ve built relationships with over the last 6 years, are doing whatever we can to prevent that from happening. This is why wraparound care is such an integral part of our mission. Secondly, we also advocate for children who are already in the orphanages in Ukraine by supporting individuals who are in regular contact with orphanages in our region.

Our Long-Term Goals:

A community resource center and alternative care homes are our long-term goals, but we also know that it takes time for these dreams to come to fruition. We also recognize and are trying to be sensitive to this historic time for Ukraine and support our partners and friends the best that we can. That being said, the entire team at New Song Int. has been busy brainstorming, praying, and meeting virtually with partners on the ground in Ukraine these past few weeks. Throughout all this, we unanimously feel led to create a “mobile response team” to better serve the immediate needs of families of children with special needs. The idea is that we are able to respond and wrap around families a lot sooner than if we wait until we have an actual building. We know many families are already feeling pressured to place their children in an institution, and a war is only going to increase that pressure. We don’t want to wait until we have an actual building in order to respond to the needs that have already been brought to our attention. 

Things We Are Grateful For:

Fresh Vision: Since our trip in November, we feel that the Lord has given New Song Int. fresh ideas and new ideas to stay faithful to the specific ways He has called us to work in Ukraine, yet relevant to the needs that arise.

Readiness: We’ve been working on updating our directory so that we can showcase the continuum of care and mission network we have in Ukraine as we try to support it. Over the last 6 years, the Lord has built strong relationships between New Song Int. and existing organizations who have been mentoring us on the ongoing orphan crisis and political challenges in the country. This directory also showcases the need for bootstrapping an entirely new organization. No organization can do everything, but we can all work together to provide a continuum of care. We are grateful that our directory was freshly updated so that we can quickly check in with those we have an ongoing relationship with.

Awareness: With the eyes of the world on Ukraine, we have built new connections with individuals and medical resources in the U.S. that we believe will serve us for years to come.