Joni and Friends Helps Evacuate People with Disabilities Stranded in Ukraine
Agoura Hills, CA – March 2, 2022:
As bombs fell on Ukraine, Joni and Friends, the international disability ministry founded by Joni Eareckson Tada, helped coordinate the evacuation of 35 people, including 15 people with disabilities and their families. Partnering with Regional In-Country Coordinator, Galyna, Joni and Friends provided support as the group embarked on a dangerous 90-minute caravan to the Polish border.
“Some of these people with disabilities are in critical situations living in basements or perhaps living on the sixth, seventh, or eighth floor of an apartment building,” said Joni and Friends CEO, Joni Eareckson Tada. “They’re paralyzed. They can’t escape. They can’t rush to the border.”
As Ukraine endures full-scale war under Russian invasion, Joni Eareckson Tada offered Galyna encouragement and prayer.
From a discreet, dark basement, Galyna responded, “I could have hardly imagined that one day I would wake up and see that a movie about World War had become my reality. The Ukrainian reality. We are really shocked that Russian troops use kids, they use pregnant women, they use sick people or hospitals for sick children as targets for missiles. That’s terrible.”
Galyna continued, “And we do not want the Russian soldiers to manipulate the people with disabilities, or to use them as shields so that our Ukrainian soldiers will not be able to protect themselves and to defend our country.”
With many people desperate to flee Ukraine, Galyna and her team made difficult choices about who to evacuate first. They started with the most vulnerable: people with quadriplegia or cerebral palsy who use wheelchairs, and four children, some with autism.
“For the kids with autism,” said Galyna, “to hear the sound of sirens, or to hear the sound of bombings, causes panic. They are afraid because the adults are afraid.”
At the border, Joni and Friends coordinated with ministry partners in Poland who received the families and escorted them to greater safety. Joni and Friends is currently working with contacts to relocate these courageous people into welcoming homes in Germany or the Netherlands where they will have food, blankets, medical care, and urgently needed hospital supplies – things even as simple as catheters for urinary drainage.
Galyna said, “At first, we were frightened, but then we saw our heroes step up to the plate against Russian aggression and it emboldened us all… I think that was the first caravan but not the last one.”
Join Joni and Friends in support and prayer for ministry partners shepherding people to safety and for the protection of caravans to come.
About Joni and Friends: For more than 40 years, Joni and Friends has provided the hope of the Gospel and practical care to people living with disability around the globe. Ministry programs include Joni’s House, Wheels for the World™, Retreats and Getaways, and disability ministry training. Joni and Friends also delivers daily inspirational media through radio programs and podcasts.
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