Emergency Relief for the Crisis in Ukraine

Thanks to your generous support, we are continuing our relief efforts in Ukraine and Hungary. 

This year was said to be a mild winter, with midwinter daytime temperatures hovering around zero degrees Celsius in western Ukraine.

Even in January, the coldest month, the temperature rarely fell below -10°C. Instead, the arrival of spring came later than usual, and even in late March, winter down coats were not always available. Briquettes and firewood for heating were also constantly distributed by the needs.

However, as April arrived, temperatures soared to nearly 20°C, and the once barren fields were now dotted with new greenery. Residents and displaced persons alike took a breather and began preparing for Easter. Easter is not as familiar in Japan, but it is one of the most important events in Christianity, along with Christmas, which celebrates the birth of Christ. It is also called the Feast of the Resurrection, as Jesus Christ, who was crucified and died, was resurrected three days later.

During this period, various ceremonies and church masses are held, and Easter festivals are also held as traditional events in many places. Easter is also a time of resurrection and rebirth, and many egg dishes are eaten and beautifully decorated hard-boiled eggs are given to each other as Easter eggs. Chocolate eggs are also popular among children, and Terra Renaissance has given many chocolate eggs as Easter gifts to children who have taken refuge in Hungary and to people living in Ukraine, in addition to the usual relief food.

After Easter, it is time to start working in the fields in earnest. In the garden of the hostel in Máriapócs, a refugee accommodation in Hungary that we have been supporting for the past two years, there is a field managed by refugees, so we delivered vegetable seeds and fertilizers. We are sure that the crops will be delicious again this year.

However, while Máriapócs’s fields are fully prepared, the farmland in western Ukraine is not. Due to the protracted war, young people who would have worked in agriculture have been conscripted, and there seems to be a shortage of agricultural workers. With a shortage of farm workers, there are also many abandoned farmlands. Especially this year, there is also a risk of abnormal weather such as El Niño and La Niña, so we cannot help but worry about the autumn harvest.

Links:

• Latest report of Uganda project
• Latest report of Cambodia project
• Terra Renaissance's homepage; facebook