Key Points
- Gordon-Pymble Uniting Church in Sydney’s north has run an initiative to send postcards to Ukrainian children affected by the war.
- Postcards have begun to arrive at their destinations, after they were sent in sets of three.
- Among those who assisted was Ukrainian vet Dr Mariia Mykytiuk, who found sanctuary in Australia in May,
Video messages of thanks have begun trickling in from children living in cities devastated by the horrific Russian war in Ukraine after they received postcards of encouragement and support from parishioners of the Gordon-Pymble Uniting Church in Sydney’s north and nearby high school students.
Crafted following a September charity event run by the church and volunteers - which raised more than $4,000 – the postcards arrived at their destination addresses in February.
Each postcard includes artwork of a kangaroo, an introduction from the student creator, and a message of support.
The money raised at the charity event was donated to the Australian charity Ukraine Crisis Appeal, which works in conjunction with Rotary Australia.
"Our little guests and their parents were happy to sign postcards for Ukrainian children. Then we sent those postcards to different cities in Ukraine," Gordon-Pymble Uniting Church coordinator Nicola Robinson explained, adding that she wished that they bring "hope and support" to recipients.
A charity event was held at Gordon-Pymble Uniting Church helped to raise more than $4,000 for those in need in Ukraine. Source: SBS
This cohort was tasked with collating the addresses of postcard recipients in Ukraine, many of whom were their classmates, friends or neighbours.
Among them was Dr Mariia Mykytiuk and her two children, who found sanctuary in Australia in May, as the lone doctor left in her neighbourhood in the city of Bucha.
Source: Supplied / Photo supplied by Maria Mykytiuk
Dr Mykytiuk and her children joined the church initiative by preparing postcards for children in their devastated home city.
In all, 60 postcards were packed into 20 envelopes, Ms Robinson said, reflecting that the decision to send multiple items in each envelope was made with the assistance of postal staff, to ensure each complied with weight requirements.
The group held concerns that the postcards would not arrive at their destinations due to the conflict, Ms Robinson said.
"As we can see on the news, there is constant shelling of different cities in Ukraine, so it's not surprising that by Christmas our postcards didn't arrive.
“But we didn't lose hope and just waited.”
Three postcards were packed into each envelope, 60 postcards in total. Source: SBS
Some recipients even recorded video messages thanking the Australian initiative.
Among those who sent video responses was Lisa, 14, from the city of Dnipro, who thanked her postcard creator Diana, a student at Killara High School in Sydney’s north.
"Diana, thank you for your letter. As you know, our country is now fighting for its freedom and the freedom of the whole world,” Lisa said in the message.
“I was very happy to receive a letter from you.”
Lisa holding a postcard created by Diana. Credit: SBS
"Videos from Lisa don't come often because they have problems with the internet,” Diana told SBS Russian.
“But I always look forward to hearing from her. I recently sent her a video in which I talked about the fact that our school banned mobile phones and showed a special purse where we should keep them. There is still no answer from Lisa yet, and I'm very worried."
Similar messages have come from postcard recipients in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital city, and Dnieper.
And while a number of postcards are yet to reach their destinations, Ms Robinson said that their senders hold hopes that their small gesture of kindness will “bring at least a little joy” to the children of Ukraine.
