This Christmas families continue to be separated, and lives torn apart in Ukraine. Many children are still spending hours sheltering in the basements of homes. Families are living under great stress and fear and face a miserable Christmas with a lack of food, freezing temperatures, and an unknown future.

Winters there can be desperately hard. In freezing conditions, heavy snow can block off roads and isolate rural villages, making food scarce, and the war has made survival more challenging. Families face ongoing air raid sirens and the real anxiety of finding food to put on the table for their children. Sadly, more than 40% of the population are now suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Kyrylo lives with his mother Oksana and his siblings Oleg and Anna in a dilapidated house provided for refugees in Western Ukraine, after their hometown in Donbas was left in ruins by the war.

"When the Russians got close to where we lived I filled a couple of suitcases with clothing and got onto the evacuation bus that took us to a refugee camp."

The house, which they now live in is shared with two other families. It is in a state of disrepair, with broken windows, crumbling plaster, damp and mould.

The situation for the family became desperate. Simply surviving day to day became an ongoing, stressful challenge.

Since the beginning of the war Mission Without Borders has gained considerable experience helping refugees like Kyrylo and his family. The need and grief run very deep and requires an extended period of healing. There is keep trauma and we pay a lot of attention to emotional and spiritual support.

Operation Christmas Love is a really important part of this work. It is a strong, helping hand to keep the weary from falling during the bleakest time of the year. In the words of one of our family workers in Ukraine, Sergiy:

"The message that we want to convey this Christmas is: 'We see you; we see the suffering you're enduring and we want to be around to bring you relief."

This Christmas, Mission Without Borders is committed to relieving the suffering of the poor and marginalised and sharing the hope found in Jesus Christ. We want to raise funds to deliver 40,000 Operation Christmas Love boxes across six countries in Eastern Europe. It’s a huge number, but people are in desperate need.

A gift of £30 will cover one food parcel, bringing joy to children and enable a family in need to share the true meaning of Christmas.

Kyrylo with an OCL box

Working with local churches we want to bring these words alive from Jesus in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest."

There are a lot of weary, tired souls, who need relief. Your gift of £30 today will cover one food parcel, bring joy to children and enable a family in need to share the true meaning of Christmas.