Winter is coming, and volunteer help is needed to assist the people of Ukraine. The help is critical in view of the recent war damage that made many homes uninhabitable in cold weather. Many organizations are addressing the problem, including the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in the Czech Republic.

“It is slowly getting colder not only in the Czech Republic but also in Ukraine. It complicates an already difficult situation for people who remained in war zones and those who took refuge in safer parts of Ukraine,”an ADRA Czech Republic representative wrote in a message on social media, inviting volunteers and donors to support the initiative.

In the coming months, people in Ukraine will have to deal with low temperatures, which sometimes drop to -20 C (-4 F). Because of the bombing, thousands of houses in Ukraine were damaged or destroyed, and sometimes windows or doors are missing, which can have fatal consequences in the winter months. 

“Quite some people stayed there through the summer, even though their houses were broken. With winter coming, it’s challenging, and I think many people will consider going inland. There aren’t even enough building materials to prepare houses for winter,” humanitarian aid coordinator Josef Koláček said.

Koláček also addressed the problem with power outages in Kyiv.“The moment you don’t have electricity, large high-rise buildings cannot access water and waste. In the villages where we helped at the beginning of the conflict, we tried not only to deliver food but often also fuel, pebbles, coal, and firewood, so that people could fix their accommodation already in February. You can’t do that for a twenty- or thirty-story block of apartments,” he said.

ADRA Czech Republic, in cooperation with ADRA Ukraine and ADRA International, will help local people cope with the coming winter as best as possible. “We will financially support heating, window, and door repairs. This way, we hope to help 1,540 people, or 530 families in the areas around Kyiv. We will continue to provide material and other humanitarian aid, depending on what is most needed,”an ADRA Czech Republic representative explained.

The aid agency is organizing a fundraising campaign to motivate people to purchase a humanitarian package.“You will help provide people with their basic life needs — food, warm clothes, blankets, but also repairs to heating, windows, or doors … destroyed in the war. Thank you for helping us!” the campaign appeal said.

The original version of this story was posted by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency in Europe.