Nearly 1.5 million homes have been destroyed during the war in Ukraine. Without a place to call home it can feel impossible to regain any sense of normalcy. It has also caused families to split apart as many temporary housing situations don’t have room for all family members. 

The Tiny Homes Project helps by providing temporary homes for families in Ukraine who have lost their own home. For $5,000 we are able to provide one of these tiny homes which is installed on their land allowing them to be back on their property while rebuilding. Once their home is rebuilt they then give their mini-home away to another family in need. 

So far we have helped install 400 homes since we got involved in this project a year ago. Our goal is to reach 1,000 homes by the fall of 2024. See the video below for more information and how one $5,000 donation can provide a home for a Ukrainian family.

When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022 the city of Hostomel was one of the first areas attacked. Russian forces sought control over the city as part of their plan to encircle and besiege Kyiv. More than 4,500 buildings were damaged, including 2,800 households. Many soldiers and civilians were killed.

The city was under Russian occupation for 35 days but was liberated by Ukrainian forces on March 31, 2022. Since then, the rebuilding efforts have been underway. Sozo Charities has partnered with Ukrainian Pastor, Sergey Lysak, who is helping build a church in the middle of town.

“I want the children here to know that yes, Russians came and destroyed my house. But the church came and rebuilt it,” says Lysak. While the building will be used for worship on Sundays, it will also serve as a community center on other days hosting trauma counseling services, children’s programs, and medical care. As of August 2023 the church is about 75% complete, but Lysak still needs to raise $40,000 to finish the project.

According to the World Bank, the number of people living in poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean increased by 14 million between 2019-2022. This brings the total number to 201 million people (32% of the region’s total population) who live in poverty. Many of these people are orphans who live in government-run orphanages. The government provides care until the orphans are 17, but when they turn 18, they’re sent out into the world completely unprepared. 

Sozo Charities has partnered with a local non-profit to help change that. We work with a local ministry, to help equip the orphans with real-world skills so they can get jobs and make a living when they leave the orphanage. The ministry is currently working with 14 orphanages and has governmental approval to expand their work.

“A really practical thing we do is load up tutorials on old iPads and distribute them to the orphans,” says D’Anne Hiskey. “Most of them don’t have internet access which makes it hard to learn skills. But now they get access to a library of hundreds of tutorial videos where they can learn things like how to: cut hair, fix a tire, edit videos, or cook food.” A single donation of just $300 can provide a year’s worth of education for one of these kids.