FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Shannon Mischuk
Graf-Martin Communications
(519) 342-3703 ext. 107
shannon@grafmartin.com
“We didn’t have a basement in our house, so a table seemed to be the only shelter I could think of,” said Ganna, a refugee sharing about her experience as their family home in Donetsk, Ukraine, was under attack. “My son Yehor understood the table wasn’t going to save us, so we went outside to search for a basement somewhere.”
As World Refugee Day approaches on June 20th, Europe faces its largest refugee crisis since World War II. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) states 14.5 million refugees are currently displaced within Ukraine and 6.7 million more have fled the country. Globally, in the past decade, the refugee population has more than doubled. According to the UNHCR, 100 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes. Among them are more than 26.4 million refugees, which is the highest population on record.
When the Ukraine crisis unfolded, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews of Canada (IFCJ Canada) responded immediately. Since then, the organization, with the help of its partners, has raised $6.5 million USD globally, with $2 million CAD coming from Canadian citizens. The donations have been used for food, medical support, and evacuation for Jewish refugees who want to relocate to Israel. Most of the money was donated by Christians, with an average of $50 per donation.
“For our Christian supporters, this is more than a humanitarian crisis — it’s a spiritual crisis,” said Yael Eckstein, President of IFCJ Canada. “Their generosity is driven by a religious duty to show love and compassion to people in need, and once again, as it has so often in the past, that generosity has made a lifesaving difference.”
In addition, The Fellowship has brought 20-plus planeloads of olim (the Hebrew word for immigrants) from Ukraine to their new home in Israel. It has also provided tons of food and matzah for Passover to the Jewish communities still living in Ukraine.
“I’m heartbroken for the refugees, heartbroken for those forced to stay behind in Ukraine, heartbroken for the world,” said Eckstein. “But I’m so inspired by those who have united to provide material support and pray for the refugees and for all of our brothers and sisters in Ukraine.”
The scale of a refugee crisis like this can be difficult to comprehend unless one has experienced it firsthand. But days like World Refugee Day help raise awareness about the suffering so many people face around the world.
For more information about the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews of Canada and their work in Ukraine and throughout the former Soviet Union, as well as in Israel, visit their website at www.ifcj.ca.
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The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews of Canada (IFCJ Canada) was founded in 2003 to promote better understanding and cooperation between Christians and Jews and to build broad support for Israel. Today it is one of the leading forces helping Israel and Jews in need worldwide and is one of the largest channels of Canadian Christian support for Israel. IFCJ Canada is a separately registered charity governed by an independent board of directors with Yael Eckstein serving as President. Founded by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, of blessed memory, IFCJ Canada operates alongside a network of Fellowship offices around the world including in the United States, Israel, and Korea. For more information, visit www.ifcj.ca.
Website www.IFCJ.ca | Facebook Facebook.com/IFCJCanada | Instagram | @ifcjcanada