Wenatchee Non-Profit Working to Help Refugees and People in Need in Ukraine

A Wenatchee non-profit missionary group with strong ties to Ukraine is working to help refugees and people threatened by the Russian attack.

Mission VHF has 22 missionaries working in the country, mostly in areas that are not under siege.

Olga Rybakov with the group says that's not typical for most of Ukraine.

"In general, there are parts of Ukraine which are in desperate need of right now with people trapped," said Rybakov.

Rybakov's brother is based in another city, which had been quiet until it received eight missile shots Monday, which made communications impossible for about 24-hours. She says she is in touch, mostly through video calls, with all of her missionaries on a daily basis.

Civilians have been trapped in the Ukrainian city of  Mariupol, where Russian attacks have been especially widespread and intense, and even apartment buildings have been bombed.

Rybakov says Mission VHF has members who are located close enough to help get people to safety.

"We actually have some people from our movement who are attempting to evacuate people from Mariupol because it's in the same region," said Rybakov. "And they're trying to get people from there to one of our missionary cities, and then they take care of those refugees there." 

The group also held a fundraiser at Pybus Market over the weekend to send money to victims in Ukraine.

Rybakov says it's not easy getting funds where they need to go.

"It is extremely difficult to get money to specific individuals or specific groups because of how their infrastructure has broken down and the Internet is not always available, and not everybody can withdraw the cash if they get a Western Union transfer," said Rybakov.

She says Mission VHF has been working in Ukraine for more than 10 years, which gives her an advantage in getting the money in the right hands.

"If I can't do it one way, send it to one part where the Internet is down, I can always send it to a different part, to another missionary who can then, use the inside bank system within Ukraine, who can then send the money to those who truly need it, can provide evacuation efforts, things like that," Rybakov said.

She says 100 percent of the $12,000 raised at last weekend's fundraiser at Pybus Market will end up in Ukraine in the next few days.

Mission VHF started in 2011, mostly serving meals to homeless people. It's focus changed over to a missionary movement in 2014 when the church it was affiliated with changed its calling to other priorities.

Rybakov says the organization really started to take off at that point, with more missionaries, as well as new missionaries who went to missionary school in Ukraine.

She says once the war started, Mission VHF became a local focal point for other organizations and individual who wanted to help out, or donate money toward helping people suffering in Ukraine.