The founder of a nonprofit dedicated to aiding Ukraine leads an inspiring webinar
The Rev. Jan Dus of Camino Humanitar appears courtesy of the Eastern Europe Partnership Network
LOUISVILLE — In his many years of ministry, the Rev. Jan Dus, founder of the nonprofit Camino Humanitar in the Czech Republic, has learned the value of storytelling to help explain the difference the ministry is making in nearby Ukraine.
That was the tack Dus took on Wednesday during a webinar hosted by the Eastern Europe Partnership Network. Camino Humanitar has been in service to the people of Ukraine since the days just after the Russian invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
“As the war has dragged on, I can see some tiredness in the European side,” Dus said during the hour-long webinar. “But the needs are as great or greater than at the start of the war.”
Dus spun one story after another, starting with working with Myrne Nebo Kharkiva, which is run by the owner of a restaurant in Kharkiv, near the Russian border. After his staff fled for their safety near the start of the war, the owner had no choice but to close his restaurant. He asked a friend in the army to teach him to shoot so he could defend his city against the Russians. “You have no training. You would be the first target,” his friend told him, according to Dus. Instead, the man could contribute what he knew how to do: “Cook for us,” his friend suggested. “We need to eat.”
The restaurateur, a man named Stanislaus, returned with his wife to the restaurant, where the refrigerators were full of delicacies. “They threw them out, bought staple foods and started cooking,” Dus said.
Soon the two realized they needed to recruit additional staff. They sought help at bomb shelters, where at each stop one or two would agree to aid the operation. In time, they started Myrne Nebo Kharkiva, which means “Calm Skies Over Kharkiv.” Since the early days of the war, the organization has cooked up to 4,000 meals every day.
One day, a bomb damaged part of the restaurant, a sign that Myrne Nebo Kharkiva needed to “spread the risk” by opening smaller operations around Kharkiv. Cooks begin their work around 4 o’clock each morning in order to have the meals ready by 10:30. The meals are distributed throughout the city by drivers.
Another partner of Camino Humanitar focuses on landmine awareness. The Russians “have heavily mined the places [in Ukraine] they withdrew from,” Dus said. “You can find them where you never expect them.” When he travels to Ukraine, Dus’ practice is to walk only on pavement.
“I had mixed feelings watching a landmine class for children. On one hand, it was sad that children needed to be talking about this,” Dus said. “On the other hand, they were raising their hands and responding. They were very responsive during the talk.”
Yet another partner works with war-wounded civilians. “The hero of this story is a woman who also decided not to leave Kharkiv,” Dus said. “‘Why don’t you leave?’ I asked. She said, ‘Jan, I actually don’t know. I just felt like God had some plan for me. I felt like God wanted me to stay.’”
She started hearing about the lack of medical resources for war-wounded civilians — those injured by bombs or in the shooting, and others who stepped on a landmine. “All the help goes to war-wounded soldiers. There are few resources for civilians,” Dus explained. The woman started fundraising to help cover the medical bills of war-wounded civilians.
“To me, it’s very important to listen to the stories of people, and to bring their stories to you,” Dus said. “Very often, people say personal stories are what helps them to understand the situation.” To date, he said, the organization has provided help to 130 war-wounded civilians.
Dus had other stories, of course, including that of a shelter for refugees in Vatutine, two hour south of Kyiv. A former center that cared for 40 seniors, the shelter is now home to 150 refugees.
“What would you do if you had to feed 150 people when power cuts are frequent?” Dus asked. In this case, staff began cooking outdoors over an open fire. He asked: How do you keep meat fresh in such circumstances? You raise live animals such as chickens and pigs in places like the Czech Republic, then ship them to Ukraine just ahead of mealtime. “They don’t need refrigeration,” Dus noted.
A place called Shelter Blaho in western Ukraine, near the border with Slovakia, ministers to the Roma population, helping children get caught up academically so they can return to school. An orphanage called Father’s House was founded by a doctor who met and cared for some street children at his own house and was surprised when he saw them a week later, “as smelly and hungry as before.” The doctor “realized he needed to do this work full-heartedly,” and Father’s House, which has been reconstructed to include a bomb shelter, is the result.
“It’s hard to tell when peace will come,” Dus noted. “The moment the war ends, all these needy people won’t become miraculously well. They will need our support.”
Follow Camino Humanitar’s updates here.
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