Motivated by love, European Mennonites send comforters, kits to Ukraine
To help Ukrainians suffering from Russia’s military invasion, Swiss and French Mennonites sent 400 handmade comforters and about 2,000 kits of hygiene supplies to Ukraine last fall.
The Association of Mennonite Brethren Churches of Ukraine (AMBCU), currently based in western Ukraine, received the supplies and distributed them to people who are living further east, closer to the front. AMBCU is a partner of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).
“The war, the hardship and the numerous stories of people who suddenly have to find their way in a completely different life situation move us here in Switzerland,” said Marianne Rediger of Berne, Switzerland. “Out of this concern, we from various Mennonite congregations have set out to provide help with our means and resources.”
“This is how we, young and old, packed buckets in a former cheese dairy in the Emmental region,” says Rediger. “This project is a good way of working together, and it creates good conversations and relationships with people in and outside the churches.”
In the five-room attic of Ruth Luethi’s farmhouse in Langnau village, people who like to sew also enjoy the social aspect that comes along with helping others. The group of about 25 volunteers have made 220 comforters in the last six years, including the 75 they contributed to the Ukraine shipment.
“I am very grateful for all these women who help me to set a sign of light and love in this world,” said Luethi, a retired teacher who turned her former attic apartment into a sewing area in 2019. Group members also offer light and love to each other as they chat over coffee and cake and share difficulties in their own lives.
The fabric used for the comforters is primarily donated by people in her church. To purchase the fleece that goes between the layers of fabric, the group makes and sells small fabric booklets for children.
“It is a very rewarding task for me in every way: recycling used material prevents the throw-away mentality. The quilts bring warmth and color into the lives of the suffering and show them that they are not forgotten. Sewing and making new things from old is also a great joy, and laying out patterns and immersing oneself in the colors brings great pleasure.”
Luethi’s group is one of seven comforter-making groups in Switzerland that contributed comforters to the Ukraine shipment. One group in Germany, made up of refugees from Ukraine and the Middle East, also contributed comforters to send. In previous years, MCC has sent supplies from European Mennonites to Jordan and Syria.
Roman Rakhuba, leader of AMBCU, expressed his gratitude for people who give comforters, kits and other resources to them.
“We are grateful to MCC for providing us with relief for many years. Benefactors value not only from the aid itself but the involvement of someone with their lives. The fact that someone cares, of course, is vital for people who have had to hide in shelters regularly and do not have anything to eat.”
As of February, 3.7 million people are displaced inside Ukraine, according to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency. More than 12.7 million are in need of humanitarian assistance.
“It is love that drives us again and again to offer help, to think of others and to act,” says Rediger. “So, we trust that the people suffering from war and threats will feel our compassion through these buckets and blankets and thus experience warmth and comfort.”
Photo caption for top photo: MCC relief kits and handmade comforters are stacked outside a former cheese dairy in Längenbach near Langnau, Switzerland, where they were packed by a group of adults and youth from Mennonite churches in Bern and Langnau. The items are ready to be transported to Ukraine. Photo/Markus Rediger