CBN's Orphan's Promise Visits Roma Community Where Food Project is Feeding Thousands of Locals and Refugees

As Ukrainians flee their homes, CBN's Orphan's Promise (OP) is feeding the vulnerable, sharing the Gospel, and working to sustain individuals, families, and communities well into the future.

A Roma community in Ukraine is displaying the light of Jesus Christ in a practical way by producing food that is nourishing local residents and refugees while they travel.

Nataliya Khomyak, director of operations for Orphan's Promise, visited one area where a resident is using a unique outreach to comfort those in need.

"Here is a great example of the power of one. Shony is a regular Roma citizen and he cares for his family," Khomyak said. "He is hard-working, seeing all of these refugees fleeing to his Roma village, and asking him for food and being hungry, people who came after weeks of literally eating melted snow coming from Mariupol and Marytopyl."

She continued, "And many of them came here because they had some relatives here, but the relatives themselves were not in the position to really help them, and so Shony had an idea. Somebody gave this big pot here. They've used it before in the camps. He's been a part of Orphan's Promise partnership with the local church for years, volunteering, helping, working. His whole family is involved, and he had an idea about using this pot that was used in the camps reaching out to thousands of kids every summer, to now cook for the refugees and for other hungry people right here in the village."

Give HERE to help Orphan's Promise help Ukrainians.

Khomyak explained that people gather in fellowship each week and enjoy a hot meal together.

"So once a week there is a feast here, and it's been happening since the beginning of the war. Today we have been privileged enough to be here and to participate in this celebration because almost 1,000 people will be fed today with this pot," she noted.  

"It cost about $500 to make this happen because they do need to buy meat. It has vegetables. The vegetables are taken from the SEED project that we have been working with this church for the past 12 years.  And they have them in storage. It's potatoes and carrots and other root vegetables that go into this pot and then it cooks.

"They've been cooking it since 8:00 AM. It's about two o'clock right now, and so it'll be ready in about half an hour.  And there will be lines of kids here who are coming with pots to bring food back to their families, and to really feed the hungry."

Khomyak said Shony is supported by numerous volunteers who help prepare the much-awaited meal.

"But this is the outreach that this church is doing now," she said. "The whole church rallied around him with volunteers helping to cut up the vegetables, to cut up the meat, to prepare everything, to make the dough that will go into it as well for bread, and to feed all these hungry people.

"And they reach to them with their food and then they reach their hearts, they pray for them, and they introduce them to Jesus Christ. So, that's one man's idea who's a hero today, who organized people, who prayed to God. You know we stepped in. The church stepped in. People stepped in to make this happen. Thank you also for being a part of it and seeing the power of one," Khomyak concluded.

Give HERE to help Orphan's Promise help Ukrainians.

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