A local church with a history of working to help Ukrainian orphans is raising money to help refugees escape the country.
Southgate Community Church launched its fundraising page earlier this week, and has already raised more than $8,000. The money is going towards evacuating people to neighboring countries like Poland and Hungary, and from there, bringing them to Canada.
Pastor Ben Last says the church has been helping people in Ukraine for ten years, with a ministry that supports women after they become too old to stay in orphanages. “A lot of people don’t know this,” Last says, “but in Ukraine, kids graduate out of the orphanage system at about fifteen years old, and there’s an incredible amount of kids in orphanages. If we take a town like Kemptville, you would have three to four orphanages just in our town, of 200 kids each.”
Last also says people in his congregation are already volunteering to help house refugees who come to Canada. “We know Kemptville is very generous,” he says, “but many people have said, ‘you know what, if someone needs a place to stay, I’ve got a bedroom,’ or ‘I’ve got an apartment in my basement,’ or ‘I’d be happy to arrange transportation,’ or provide whatever it is. It’s really neat to see the community come together.”
Southgate Church’s Facebook page has a link to the fundraiser. Last says you can also donate directly through the church if you want a tax receipt for your donation.