WEYBURN - War is never good and is highly destructive of human lives, of property, of the countries involved and to the world at large as the ripple effects spread outwards.
In the case of the nation of Ukraine, invaded by the much larger country of Russia, the destruction of towns, cities, homes, apartment buildings, businesses, industries and nearly everything else is devastating, and in some areas, ongoing.
The ones to pay the biggest price in this conflict are the men, women and children of Ukraine, thus millions of residents have exited the country to get away from the bombs and the killing.
For those who have remained in Ukraine, there are shortages of food, water and most of the necessities of life, not to mention many have nowhere left to live.
The humanitarian needs are immense, both in Ukraine and for the refugees who had to flee the country for their safety, often with not much more than the clothes on their backs or whatever they were able to carry with them.
For those who live in affluent Canada, and in other well-off countries of the world, we need to reach out and help those whose lives were turned upside down by war.
Here in Weyburn, there are two ways to lend a hand.
One is to drop off items like clothing, blankets, footwear or even bicycles at the Faith Mission sea-can container located on Queen Street, next to Fido’s Doggy Day Care.
This charity, based out of Winkler, Man., will take those donated items and will ship them to churches in Ukraine, and the items are then distributed locally to people in their region, often in a 200-kom radius of their location.
The donations are taken directly to the people of Ukraine, not going through any middle agency or group, and this organization also sends funds to an associated group based in Germany for the purchase and shipment of food into Ukraine.
Another opportunity to help out is coming up on Sunday, May 22, as a lunch-supper event featuring homemade Ukrainian food will be held at the Wheatland Seniors Centre from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The funds raised from this event will go to a Ukrainian charity, Come Back Alive, which provides support to the Ukrainian military.
For those who oppose war and killing, and opposes anything related to guns and ammunition, the organization is a support group only, as they provide items like tablets and cables, to assist the military with computer technology, as well as with training of military personnel.
There are other places to help as well, such as the Red Cross, which provides humanitarian assistance. The recent Mother’s Day tea sent their proceeds to this organization.
We are fortunate to live in a peaceful country, and if we can help in any way, we should make that effort.
