Waterloo Ukrainian church's 'gift of hope' sends ambulance to support those back home

Parishioners at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of St. Sophia in Waterloo, Ont., have been hard at work for months to raise money to repair a donated ambulance they hope will reach Ukriane in January.

The ambulance was donated by a fellow parishioner and sinceSeptember, the church raised $6,000 to cover the costs of repairs and shipping.

"There is a desperate need in anything medicine related, medical supply related, and an ambulanceis a great gift for who ever gets it," Bohdan Khromets,a parishioner who came to Canada from Kyiv three years ago, told CBC News.

Khromets said he is very aware of the dire circumstances back home. Hestill has family in Ukraine, including his motherwho works asa doctor in Kyiv.

"[The ambulance] goes to the eastern part of Ukraine and will serve the needs of the community there," he said.

"We really see it as a gift of hopefrom our community for the people in Ukraine, who will use it to their own benefit and hopefully it will save a lot of lives."

In some ways, Khromets said he feels it'saway he can helphis mother, her colleagues and his nation from afar.

"I am very grateful that we have a project like that and it's directly related to my family," he said.

'Our church has a big heart'

The church also spent weeks collecting items like medical supplies, vitamins,wheelchairsand even children'swinter clothing that will got to an orphanage in Ukraine the church supports.

"A lot of Ukraine doesn't have electricity, water or heat right now," Claudia Griebenow told CBC News.

She said many of the women in the church have also taken the time to knit items like scarves to send with the ambulance.

"Our church has a big heart, but you cannot do a project of this magnitude without the help of others and our community has been very generous with us," she said.

Griebenowsaidthe church has people from different backgrounds and religious groups reach out to offer their support, including the group Waterloo RegionGrassrootsResponse to theUkrainianCrisis.

The groups have helped the church send eight skids of supplies and clothing to Ukraine since the start of the war, she said, and the work will continue.

"This huge project that we've done so far shows that we are ready to do the serious volunteering work and so we'll continue," Khromets said.