Recently, Global Aid Network shipped a container of dried foods to Belarus to help feed several orphanages. We received this letter from Sergei, our staff representative in Belarus:

Thank you for the truckload of dried fruit and soup! Yes, we do need more items like these in Belarus—no institution can afford to purchase food of this quality because the government provides funds only for workers’ salaries and very basic food. That is why Belarus is called a potato republic—in many schools and orphanages, kids are eating potatoes three times a day.

Can you imagine children eating only potatoes? Without calcium, their bones would not grow. Without protein, their muscles would not develop. Without green vegetables and fruit, their bodies cannot fight off disease. But for many orphans in the former Soviet Union, all they receive are potatoes because in many places, government funding for many orphanages has dropped or ceased.

And the Global Aid Network office continues to receive additional requests for help. We received a letter from a missionary whom we partner with in Russia. He sent us his newsletter so we could see an excerpt from his journal as a call for help:

            I arrived at the orphanage late afternoon. I saw a couple of the younger boys stacking shovels. Soon thereafter, I discovered all the young boys and girls exhausted in their beds. The orphans had been kept out of school for a week to dig potatoes in a nearby farmer’s field. For the orphans’ labor, the orphanage received 10% of the potatoes that the children dug.

            The big problem was not the hard work. The real problem was that due to a lack of government funds, food, and supplies, the children were being fed very poorly. The director told me that the orphans had eaten very little protein and almost no fruits and vegetables for two months. Without notice, I returned later that night to see 84 orphans share a pot of boiled potatoes, and each ate two pieces of bread and a cup of tea. This should not happen, and I was angry and concerned. As God provides resources for these children, we will get quality food to them on a regular basis this winter. I will work on a long-term plan for these precious ones to have an improved diet…

—From the Journal of Paul Lossau, missionary to Russia

Recently, compassionate donors heard the call for help, prayed, and provided funds to purchase critically needed items like food, clothing, and medical supplies to 100 sites in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine—including the orphanage Paul found that was in desperate need of food.

Every year, orphanages ask Global Aid Network and their partners to provide flour, buckwheat, rice, sugar, canned meats, cooking oil, vegetables and fruit. If you would like to help purchase these life-saving foods, visit this link Critical Care Needs.