(NOTE: we are utilizing my
husbands charity, Cities Project
Global to service the donations.
Be sure to type LOU on the
comment field)

You may know at least a portion of my life’s story, the fascinating story of rags to riches, of a refugee escaping from communism to become a naturalized citizen in the land of the free. Born in a barn fleeing from Ukraine in WWII, becoming a refugee in Germany, transitioning to an immigrant in America and then achieving abundance in the land of opportunity. I often used to ask God, “Why me, Lord, why this life story for me?” Then the Putin war broke out, and it all became clear very quickly. The Ukrainian portion of my heart was heartbroken and the American portion was desperate to do something…to somehow give back after all the abundant blessings I have received in my life. It is now my turn to give back.

Last year in May, I went to be a translator in a Ukrainian refugee camp in Germany. There, I met some Singaporean volunteers; and fostered a friendship that blossomed into a 3 week trip into Ukraine and Poland in August. We understood a number of critical needs in Ukraine where we could help. We identified established organizations already on the ground meeting these needs. So, Love on Ukraine (LOU) was born as the conduit for giving.

Present Destruction

The traumatic event of children looking at the rubble remains of their home

Machine gun fire on seats and wall

This was someone’s home.

WHO WE ARE

We are a small group of 6 people (2 in US/4 in Singapore) not connected to any large humanitarian organization. However, our hearts are clear. We want to help the most overlooked and forgotten people in Ukraine caught up in an evil war that was thrust upon them.  They are the poorest of the poor:  the widowed, the orphaned, the injured soldiers coming home without limbs, and the elderly that had become homeless in bombed villages…all emotionally traumatized and without hope.

Love on Ukraine (www.loveonukraine.org) was born from the helplessness and pain that we felt for these people.

We are little and go after multiple little needs taking care of the ordinary little people caught in a war that they had no control over.  They have lost their homes, their communities, their livelihood, their family members or loved ones …yet they continue in hope.

We have built a powerful little army on the ground in Ukraine of little people just like us.  They have paused their lives, embraced the cause and gone out to help wherever they are led by God.  We pray and raise resources to support their efforts.  We are a team that stays in touch across the oceans almost every day. That is the beauty of “small”.

Our Mission is “Good Deeds wrapped in Good News”

  • We go to provide humanitarian help wherever needed

  • We listen, tell them God is in charge, and pray with them

  • We tell them about the love of Jesus to give them hope

  • we give out Bibles and salvation message leaflets

Like Jesus, we are driven…. compelled by deep compassion for these people and Ukraine, to give them hope for their earthly situation… even more, hope for heaven.

Currently Love on Ukraine is focusing on 3 main Pillars of Needs.

The urgent needs on the military frontline have increased exponentially as the war continues into its 2nd year. We have implemented a variety of Lighthouse Projects that provide specific needs as well as a steady flow of generators, medical supplies, humanitarian aid to soldiers on the front lines and Ukrainians living in villages nearby.

Another urgent need on people’s hearts that we heard repeatedly was Housing. The devastating, destructive effects of the war have left people without adequate shelter or resources for weather protection and rebuilding.

With almost the same heartbreaking urgency, we heard about the Emotional Trauma that this war has inflicted on adults and children alike. Much healing over several generations will be needed before the Ukrainian people can feel secure peace in their hearts again.

Please consider giving as your heart directs to at least one of these three needs. Please click on “Donation Information” below for options on ways to donate.

Lighthouse Projects

Abbreviated clips of the first two Lighthouse Projects are shown here.

Audio Stuffed Animal Distribution

This 4 year old girl is from Mariupol - a city that’s been occupied and 95% destroyed. She and her family are now refugees. She wouldn’t let go of the toy and listened to it for hours. She told her fellow refugee friends: “listen to the lamb, Jesus is talking to me. He is here.” We pray that the word of God ministers and heals. There’s no words sometimes when you see the brokenness and pain that only God’s Word alone can comfort and heal.

Because refugees have lost almost everything they have, this may be the child’s only toy. And this toy has the audio Bible and also children’s worship songs in the Ukrainian language.

Drinking Water & Baking Bread

Bread of Life and Living Water Lighthouse project was birthed from this video. A pastor was compelled to seek Yarik’s help to build a bakery and dig a well in a village only 5 miles from the front lines across the river. The water in the village was contaminated. He thought if he could provide a well with clean water for the village, and gave out warm bread when people came to the well, it would provide hope and build community in the village.

Who knew that a few months after the bakery and well were completed, the Russians would destroy the dam and flood that area…God did.

Now many parishioners act as volunteers caring for the people that come for aid. Since the dam blew up, people have learned about our well and 800 cars are coming every day for water. Our well is providing fresh water for over 1,000 people each day. LOU is thrilled to have God use us in this way.

For more information on any of these projects, click on the underlined title. To follow a storyline inside, follow the numbered sequence starting with “#1”.
Using the back button will bring you back here.

List of current Lighthouse Projects

  • Audio Stuffed Animal Distribution: providing stuffed animals that tell audio children’s Bible stories in Ukrainian. Refuge and orphaned children seek comfort cuddling and listening.

  • Drinking Water & Baking Bread Lighthouse: Lyman, a village just 5 miles from the Russian front, was severely destroyed with Russian bombing attacks. The main water source is contaminated so fresh water is in short supply. A church pastor wanted to create a community gathering place by creating a bakery and drilling a well. This was a vision of “Good News & Good Works” where people now come to pick up warm baked bread and fresh water while they hear about the news of “Bread of Life and Living Water”.

  • Trips to the Military Front Lines: bringing humanitarian supplies to wounded soldiers. Equipping temporary holding military facilities medical supplies, operating room equipment and generators requested by doctors providing palliative care to injured soldiers waiting to be transferred to permanent hospital to receive definitive treatment.

  • Trips to Village People Still Living inside the Military Zone: bringing generators, clothing/food supplies and “minus 20* below” sleeping bags. This was especially critical during the horrific winter weather when the Russians destroyed 75% of Ukraine’s energy grid on Thanksgiving Day. Pastor Andeij visits these areas every 3-4 weeks bringing 2-4 truckloads of urgently needed humanitarian aid to hospitals and villages alike. He risks his life every trip.

  • Visiting Regional Rehab Centers where Injured Soldiers Return for Definitive Care: providing emotional support, prosthetic and personal supplies to soldiers returning for orthopedic surgeries. They suffer from PTSD, traumatized by their battlefield combat experience and frequently wrestling with permanent lifestyle changes due to loss of limbs.

IN SUMMARY:

I have so many stories to tell and not enough space on a written page to do them justice. For me it is not just raising money for shelters against the harsh winter, or humanitarian aid to traumatized people trying to survive the destructions of war. It is also about connecting people’s hearts across the ocean so both sides feel God’s love at work giving both Hope and Comfort. The best part: God is in the middle of everything we do. Everyone who receives anything, is told that this is a gift from the Lord delivered by us.

Rebuilding Destroyed Homes

My Home is providing temporary housing in villages devastated by bombings as people try to rebuild permanent homes on their plot of land covered with the rubble remains of their previous home

My Home project, an initiative to provide emergency housing for the villages of Moschun, Bucha, Irpin. My Home has currently delivered 310 prefabricated homes. They have also established food and clothing distributions centers in the villages and has held community gatherings over barbeque dinners to encourage fellowship and a sense of community.

Each prefab home can be delivered and installed in a 2 week timeframe on a family’s home lot. These homes shelter families from the harsh winters and continue as a place for families to live while they start to rebuild their permanent home.

  • Cost: $4,000 delivered and installed on site (see video here)

  • “Walk in and live” ready: fully furnished with new living necessities even dishes, silverware, coffee pot

  • Goal: build 400 houses by winter.

  • Outreach: a Welcome bag containing Christian material of hope and food staples will come with the delivery of each house.

Please donate money to build a house, multiple houses or just a portion of a house.

House newly delivered

Home lived in 4 months

The Interior

Healing the Traumas of the Heart

Mission to Ukraine (MTU) meets the needs of the most vulnerable

Ira, who heads up MTU, and her staff work tirelessly to bring dignity, hope and assistance not only to the most vulnerable people — people who often have no voice in Ukraine society — but now also reaching out to people that have been traumatized during these difficult times of war, especially children.

  • Crisis Pregnancy center: They serve pregnant women who have lost their husbands and are facing life defining decisions amidst incredible hardships. They walk beside women who have chosen to carry their babies to term and provide emotional support and financial assistance for 18 months after the birth.

  • Families in Need of Help: An outcrop from the crisis pregnancy center are families in need of further assistance, such as those with special needs children and their siblings who are often lost in the shuffle as the family struggles with the high care demands of a special needs child. There are 500 such families that are presently being supported. There are another 180 more families in need of various help.

  • Community Help: MTU has expanded their focus in this horrific war time to work even more closely with local churches. They have helped LOU to build Lighthouses, organize soup kitchens and deliver humanitarian aid in Zhytomyr and neighboring regions. A million refugees have come through their city since the war began February 2022. MTU is partnering with pastors to use church space to provide shelter, food kitchens and humanitarian aid to these refugees on their journey.

Please Donate to MTU for the above needs

Love on Ukraine Team with Ira in the middle in white

Give Electronically

To give a tax-deductible donation on-line by Credit card or e-Check:

  • Choose Credit Card or e-Check option

  • Fill-in the needed information on the form

  • Also be sure to type “”LOU: MyHome” or “LOU: MTU” or both in the comment box on the form

(NOTE: we are utilizing my husband's charity called Cities Project Global to service the donations. Be sure to type LOU on the comment field)

Give by Check

To give a tax-deductible donation by check:

  • Make check payable to: Cities Project Global*

  • Write “LOU: MyHome ” or “LOU: MTU” in the memo line (Write 2 separate checks if you are giving to both.)

  • Send your check(s) to: Sandra Varney, 10332 Eclipse Lane, Great Falls, VA 22066

For further information about our work in Ukraine please email Sandy personally SandraDVarney@gmail.com. She will respond quickly by phone or email.

* Cities Project Global is my husband’s charitable organization. He has kindly offered to process Love on Ukraine donations through his charity and absorb all the processing costs. That is why writing “LOU” on the memo line is critical.

You can also visit our Love On Ukraine Singapore Partner Website

I promised my family that I would NOT enter Ukraine if the war continued to intensify. With continual prayer, I knew God would guide my decision. I did not contact my relatives in Ukraine before the trip.

My Personal Blessing from God

Once inside the borders of Ukraine, I reached out to my relatives to say that my feet were standing on Ukrainian soil. You can imagine my cousin’s shocked surprise and my tearful delight. She insisted on coming to see me so I found a day where I was not critical to the team. My cousin OIya and some of her family traveled 3 hours from their village to meet me in my hotel in Kiev. The challenge was that Ukraine had a 10 o’clock curfew, so they had to be back home by then.

The reunion was emotional beyond description. After an initial flood of tears, we jumped in right where we left off the last time I had seen them 15 years ago….and never stopped… trying desperately to take advantage of our brief time together that we were so grateful for.

Midday, the Singaporean team surprised me with getting rooms for my relatives in the hotel so they did not have to travel back the same day. My cousin Olya and I talked and giggled into the early hours of dawn like two college kids.

Only God can provide all this!