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Hello family and friends,

You know, dear friends, that now you are helping not only children and civilians in Ukraine, but also the military, in particular, our son Misha and his team; and our friend Dasha’s husband and his team. They protect the people of Ukraine.

Our son and his team often change locations, it is necessary to dig trenches and build temporary fortification underground structures for protection. We bought a chainsaw, an electricity generator, binoculars, and two water filter systems for the guys. Our son said: “Mark and Mom, you can’t even imagine what a huge help this is and how nice it is to feel supported.” He and the guys asked me to convey a big thank you to all of you! We are also very grateful to you!

Mark’s Moments

Sveta and I have returned to NW Ukraine for a three week visit with our daughter and three grandchildren. That is the best reason, but there had to be more reasons to endure the twelve hour bus ride. Sveta and I both needed some dental work, she had a Ukrainian document that she needed to have processed ASAP, and she has the opportunity to complete her driver training course.

Our daughter took us for a walk through the Ivano-Frankivsk Center tourism street. It is foot traffic only, and is an older historic section of town. You can see in these photographs that they honor the soldiers who have given their lives for their country. These bigger than life pictures fill the street for about a quarter mile, (440 yards). It is a powerful reminder of the awesome cost of this war.

Early in the war, all of the children at the Dobromel Orphanage who had family to go to, were sent home. The remaining children were true orphans. They were sent to other countries, to start a new life in foreign government facilities. This left the orphanage empty, and waiting for more children. As the war in our city of Mykolaiv intensified, the children in the Mykolaiv orphanages there were sent west. About one hundred of them ended up at the Dobromel orphanage.

Natalia M. continued her massage program with this group of children. Many suffered emotional trauma from their experience with the war in the places that they called home. Along with emotional trauma, poor posture and scoliosis appear. In the first picture, you can easily see the results that this girl has received. Natalia M. uses her massage skills, but even more importantly, she inspires the children with her love and enthusiasm.

Natalia believes so deeply in her work that she is successfully operating her own massage therapy clinic in her own city. Natalia M. is a perfect example of what MUCH is all about. We are so very proud of her success.

Sveta’s Journey

Life in our city of Mykolaiv is to live under shelling and bombing every day. But our friends with whom we communicate via the Internet do not complain and do not lose heart, they expect victory. Within five months, they got used to living without clean drinking water from the tap. Washing machines and boilers are out of order, unable to withstand the highly salty and dirty technical water that flows through pipes. They are accustomed to washing by hand while using a minimum amount of clean water. They are accustomed to using three to five liters of water for bathing.

It is necessary to save water for which you have to go to the place of distribution of clean water and use a special wheelbarrow or hand truck to bring this precious liquid to your apartment.

When my friend Lyalya told me all of this on the phone, at the end she added: “Don’t think that I’m complaining. I got used to it and have adapted to it.” She was unspeakably happy when she saw that money from our mission had come to her account: just in time! She was on her way to church, walking so as not to spend money on the bus (the prices for everything had increased several times).

Currently, we are providing massage therapy for twelve children a month in Ukraine. We have only three massage therapists in Ukraine. The other eleven have either relocated in Ukraine, or moved to other countries. About twenty children at the Dobromel orphanage participate in computer training programs. We have two children in the transportation scholarship program that we support when they are having classes in person rather than online. The other children who benefit from MUCH are in the families that receive humanitarian help through the teams that we support.

When MUCH supports our Ukrainian men at war, we are protecting the children of Ukraine! Thank you for your support!

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