Author: Salesian Missions

Publication Date: October 24, 2022

UKRAINE: Salesian Missions sends critical shipment of medical and food aid

Donations impacted more than 1,000 people.

NEW ROCHELLE, NY (Oct. 24, 2022) Salesian missionaries in Ukraine have medical supplies and rice-meals to aid people thanks to donations secured and shipped by Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. Salesians living and working in Ukraine* have remained in their centers and churches where they are helping families with shelter, support, and nutrition. The donations impacted more than 1,000 people.

The medical supply donation was provided by Matter, an organization that provides valuable corporate surplus to the places and people who need these life-saving resources the most. The medical supplies were provided to the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians of the Eastern Rite in Ukraine and then dispersed to the Salesian community in Zhytomyr, among other sites. The supplies are being used in local hospitals and for people in need.

Katie Johnson, director of global health initiatives at Matter, said, “The team at Salesian Missions is doing wonderful work and Matter is honored to partner with such a special organization. We are grateful for organizations like Salesian Missions that allow us to be a small part of bringing these life-saving devices to those who need them most.”

“We appreciate this new partnership with Matter, which has enabled us to get critical medical supplies to places in need in Ukraine,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions. “Salesian organizations around the globe have come together to help support Salesians in Ukraine who are working with people displaced inside the country. This support is essential, especially now, when the warehouses of food and medicines in Ukraine are empty. The needs of people are increasing.”

Along with the medical supply shipment, Salesian Missions also sent a container of rice-meals from Feed My Starving Children, a nonprofit Christian organization committed to “feeding God’s children hungry in body and spirit.” The food is destined for poor residents of towns and villages in eastern Ukraine, where food is needed most. In addition to these efforts, soon after the war started, Salesian Missions launched a Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund that is helping to provide shelter, nutrition and supplies to refugees in need. This fund is among other fundraising efforts that Salesians in more than 130 countries are doing in support of Salesians on the front lines of this crisis.

### Contact: [email protected]