Many in Atlanta have been inspired this week by a visit from Ukrainians, Marina Serdichenko and Dr. Olha Paliychuk, to the city and to the donors.
HelpingUkraine.us, launched in May of 2022, has come a long way in a year and a half to provide much needed medical supplies and humanitarian support in the war-torn areas of the country.
Members of the HelpingUkraine.us team here in Atlanta have had the opportunity to be together, some of them meeting for the first time, and of course, having an opportunity to be with our main representatives in Ukraine in person.
“It is appropriate this holiday season that our donors have had the opportunity to meet our visitors from Ukraine who were able to express their immense gratitude and tell their stories of how our efforts have brought change to their country,” said Emory Morsberger, founder of HelpingUkraine.us. “We have attended meetings, celebration dinners, and other gatherings. It is clearer to me than ever that our support for those in Ukraine must be continued.”
The blessing of the donor dinner on December 5th was given by Ambassador Andrew Young, and in his words.
Father in heaven, Father on Earth, amongst us in the presence of your Holy Spirit, we ask for mercy.
We ask for mercy for your children in Ukraine, and we ask for mercy for your children in these United States. You have asked us to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to heal the sick, to set at liberty those who are oppressed. And so, we assume that yours is a kingdom of a spiritual democracy. We pray that we might understand it and be worthy of the fact that maybe this is the only way people of so many differences can come together and live and serve and make possible a kingdom where people will love one another and where the blessings and inspiration that you give to one will be shared with all.
Father, we don’t know whether we’re worthy or not, but we ask forgiveness. We ask forgiveness for our insensitivity, for our not being concerned about those who are in need more than we are, and we ask that you would give us the strength and the wisdom and the courage to stand up against evil in all of his forms.
We pray particularly for those amongst us who have been to Ukraine, who have seen the suffering and who minister against it daily. We ask a special blessing for them that they might rise up with wings like angels, and that they may be able to serve the children of Ukraine and the adults and elderly of Ukraine as you would have your children served.
Father, this is not about Ukraine, it is about your kingdom here on earth. And we admit that we’re thankful for Rotary and we’re thankful for those of us who have been blessed by a Judeo-Christian tradition or whatever tradition has made us more sensitive to those in our midst. And we pray that you would help us to learn to live and to be as one.
This is an expensive task we know, and yet the hungry must be fed, and that means we must revive Ukrainian agriculture. The naked must be clothed. That means the technology of Ukraine is important to the rest of the world. It means that you’ve given a certain blessing to people in that region to create a culture that is transcendent, that now wallows amidst death and destruction.
And so, we know you are a God of resurrection, and we ask you to raise up your prayers. In the name of your son and one, all of us can learn to admire and respect and lose power you have entrusted to your people through him in Christ and we pray. Amen.
Those sharing their stories over the last few days have included:
From Atlanta
Emory Morsberger – Executive Director of Gateway85 CID / Founder of HelpingUkraine.us
John Daniel – Co-Founder of ProgenaCare Global
Chris Brand – President of FODAC (Friends of Disabled Adults and Children)
Radu Zernoveanu Jr – Executive Consultant at FW Cook, Buckhead Rotary
Ken Ward – Team Leader at Helpingukraine.us
Olga Gorman – Project Coordinator HelpingUkraine.us
From Ukraine
Marina Serdichenko – Chaplain at Odesa People’s Church and Good Samaritan Foundation
Dr Olha Paliychuk – MD, PhD, OBGYM Medical Director Cherkassy Hospital
Morsberger continued, “As we share this holiday season and anticipate the closeout of 2023, we are hopeful that many will recommit through donations, and new friends will join our movement. We have a $50,000 matching fund for donations now through the end of the year, and certainly hope to exceed that number in new donations.”
Please see the linked videos played at the dinner Tuesday evening.
https://youtu.be/z1bcxVRmHVM?feature=shared
Ukrainian War Statistics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88RkVJJGmfo
For more information or to arrange interviews contact:
amanda@newaboa.com or 404-659-0919