Faces of Faithfulness: Meet the Women Serving Ukraine Through Family of Christ

Behind every humanitarian aid package, every warm meal, every Christmas gift handed to a child, there is a person who showed up. In Uzhhorod, Ukraine, many of those people are women. Faithful, tireless, and deeply rooted in love for their neighbors. Here are five of them.

Their stories are not extraordinary because of what they have been given. They are extraordinary because of what they choose to give.

1. Katya

Katya grew up in an orphanage. For the past 10 years, she has been serving with Family of Christ Charity Foundation, faithfully carrying out both her work and her ministry. Katya helps collect humanitarian aid, does clothing printing, assists with loading, and skillfully handles warehouse tools. She is not afraid of hard work, in fact, it seems that hard work is afraid of her.

When the Christmas season comes, Katya seems to turn into a real Santa for children. This year alone, she personally assembled and packed 1,100 gifts. It is an incredible amount of work, powered by love, patience, and a big heart.

In addition to her warehouse service, Katya plays drums in the worship team at Christ’s Family Church, visits wounded soldiers in the hospital, and ministers to orphaned children with a deep understanding of the emotional pain they carry.​ 

2. Yana and Diana

Yana and Diana are two local women from Uzhhorod and now we simply cannot imagine one without the other. They are always together and always ready to help. Since the very first day of the full-scale war, these two young women have been serving alongside us.

They help sort clothing, prepare social aid packages, and put together gifts for the Christmas campaign “A Gift from an Angel.” Their faithfulness in small things becomes a great support for many people every single day.

3. Valentyna

Valentyna is the mother of four children. At the beginning of the war, she and her husband Andrii were living in the Kherson region, but because of the occupation, her family was forced to flee with their children. They now live in Velykyi Bereznyi.
Valentyna joined our volunteer team recently, but serving people is nothing new to her.

For a long time, she has been involved in children’s ministry at Family of Christ Church. Her mother’s heart, care, and willingness to help have already become a valuable part of our volunteer team.

4. Svitlana (Aunt Sveta)

Svitlana, or affectionately as we call her, Aunt Sveta, is a woman with truly golden hands. Svitlana is the mother of Rudolf, the Director of Family of Christ International. Every day, without a day off, she opens the kitchen at 7:00 in the morning so that warehouse workers and volunteers can have a fresh, hot lunch.

Her care is more than just cooking meals. It is a daily ministry of love that strengthens those who serve others. Behind every plate of hot food stands her big heart, faithfulness, and tireless work.​

5. Eleonora (Eli)

Eleonora is a little helper who is following in her father’s footsteps. With ministry running in the family, Eli is the daughter of Rudolf, Family of Christ International’s Director! Even at her young age, Eli already has a big heart and understands that true joy and real miracles are found in helping others.​

Collecting gifts, visiting orphanages, and spending time in homes for the elderly are things she does with joy and a sincere desire to serve. In her small steps, you can already see a big heart learning to love people through action.​

Meet our full volunteer team: familyofchristinternational.org/our-volunteers