The shelter project for the devotees displaced in Ukraine has been going on smoothly over the past weeks. At this point, with the generous donations offered internationally, ISKCON Ukraine has raised enough to provide basic care and support for the devotees in need. Their focus right now is the development of buildings that will shelter devotees as the cold winter months quickly approach, while providing emergency funding to devotees not being able to buy the basic necessities of food and warmth.

The devotees started construction on a 10-room building with a communal kitchen. This will house families most in need of shelter immediately on its completion. The papers for an adjacent property are also being gathered in the intent to purchase it for housing more of the displaced devotees.

Here are some specific developments over the last week:

1) A boiler for heating the building and water has been purchased. It’s fueled by sawdust. This will keep heating costs way down because sawdust is free from the devotee’s sawmill down the street. Moreover, with the gas crisis (Russia cut off gas to Ukraine) wood prices have shot up. The boiler cost $5,700.

2) Later this week approximately $17,000 will be spent on wood for constructing the building. The devotee who owns the sawmill right next to the property will be milling the wood as a service.

3) Besides the foundation, which is being dug right now, four wells are currently being drilled for water and septic.

Niranjana Swami and the Ukrainian ISKCON community request ISKCON News readers to please keep these devotees in your prayers as they begin the process rebuilding their homes and lives.