THE SCHOOL THAT PLANNED FOR A WAR THAT WOULD “NEVER HAPPEN”
A SCHOOL FOUNDED IN THE UKRAINIAN LANGUAGE
The Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary (UBTS) was founded in 2000 through an alliance of Baptist churches from Ukraine, the U.S., and Canada, with a goal of bringing academic pastoral training in the Ukrainian language, since at that time, no such school existed.
UBTS classrooms were turned into living rooms for refugee families.
UBTS is located in Lviv, Ukraine and exists for the purpose of developing leaders in ministry. It offers certificate, bachelor, and master’s educational options in programs such as Church Ministry, Musical Ministry, Christian Counseling, and much more. Online training is also an option for students. Currently, the school has 1,200 enrolled students, including international students from Riga and Warsaw. 14% of students who, prior to the war had been living on campus, have now been displaced and live in the United States, Germany, Poland, and other European countries.
THE TEAM MAKES PLANS
In December of 2021, after watching the escalating political tensions between Russia and Ukraine, UBTS president Yaroslav Pyzh gathered the staff together and instructed them to prepare for a full-fledged war. Each member was given a specific role. The team created a donation relief fund, started buying gasoline, non-perishable food items, blankets, and purchasing mattresses.
A man helps an elderly woman into her wheelchair.
“NO ONE BELIEVED THE WAR WOULD ACTUALLY COME”
“Everyone did as they were instructed, but no one believed that the war would actually come,” Ilona Kadatskaya, Supervisor of Development and Communication at UBTS, recounts. When the war began on February 24th, Ilona’s alarm went off at 7am. She received news of the attacks when she checked her Facebook. On her way to work, the air raid alert sirens were going off in the city. At work, the staff immediately stepped into their previously planned roles; “because we had planned in advance, within just a few hours of the announcement of the war, everyone on our team was in their positions and taking action,” Ilona describes.
“IN ONE DAY, I HAD LIVED A MONTH”
She spent the entire day working on “auto-pilot,” distributing emails and communicating with students. “When I got home in the evening, I had the sense that in one day, I had lived a month. It was a surreal day. All the explosions we saw and heard on the news, it seemed unreal, something like this could not have happened in Ukraine,” Ilona shares.
CLASSROOMS BECAME LIVING ROOMS
UBTS quickly turned its classroom into living quarters, and within the first few days of the war, they provided for over 4,000 refugees, with 300-400 people flowing through them daily. Schools and community centers were opened in Lviv. The city was filled with refugees fleeing the Kiev regions of Irpin and Bucha as well as eastern Ukraine.
“The situation at the train station was horrifying; the atmosphere of grim, shocked faces - it all seemed like a movie,” Ilona recounts. Suitcases and crates of pets were left at the station, with no room for them in the train compartments. The cars were packed so tightly with people, Ilona worried they’d derail. Some waited at the station for 2-3 days before they had a chance to board.
A couple hold their newborn son. He was born on March 8th in Mariupol, in a facility with no electricity or running water. Tragically, his older sister was killed by rubble in their home following an explosion.
“FOR US, EVERYDAY IS FEBRUARY 24th”
Lviv is an urban city located on the west of Ukraine and blurs the lines between Ukrainian culture and European-style quaint cobblestone streets, restaurants, and shops. It’s reminiscent of cities like Prague and Vienna. Prior to the war, Ilona enjoyed taking walks through the inner city, sipping on a cup of coffee, but this year, as warmer temperatures, budding leaves, and green grasses emerged- she felt numb to spring’s arrival. Simple pleasures, such as leaving behind a heavy jacket in favor of a lighter one, seemed to make no difference. External changes which normally would bring a renewed hope and freshness to life were absent this year. “Y них весна, а у нас всегда 24 февраля,” Ilona notes, meaning “others may experience spring, but for us, every day is February 24th.”
A CAT SAVED A LIFE
Ilona described the arrival of an elderly woman to UBTS, who had survived the attack at the Kramatorsk station. Many people were gathered at the station, attempting to evacuate, when missiles hit. The elderly woman recounted how she had turned to soothe the cries of a cat she had brought with her. At the exact moment she bent down towards the cat, the missiles hit and glass shards behind her exploded, killing several people in front of her. Bending down toward the cat had saved her life.
UBTS volunteers feed a cat.
REFUGEES ARRIVED WITH BLOOD ON THEIR SUITCASES
When Ilona’s friend arrived from Mariupol, she shared “I didn’t recognize her. All I could do was weep with her as she shared the horrors of her experience.”
Refugees would arrive at UBTS with blood on their suitcases.
During the first three weeks, none of the staff took any days off. The team members barely slept. Ilona and her family were constantly hosting refugees. She would wake up at 1am to open the door of her apartment, welcome a refugee family, and go back to bed, only to be woken up again at 3am, and then 5am, by more families. As fatigue set in, the staff members realized they needed to take time to rest. “The life of a volunteer is a marathon,” not a sprint, Ilona explained.
A woman holds her pet dog, becoming emotional as she shares about her experience.
OVER 10,000 HAVE BEEN HELPED
During the course of the war, UBTS has worked primarily to provide temporary shelter for refugees, as well as meals, necessary medical supplies, hygienic items, medical care, and transportation to the border. As of the 77th day of the war, they’ve helped roughly 10,000 refugees. With the influx of refugees slowing down, they now focus their efforts on distributing humanitarian aid to a network of students across Ukraine. The students then distribute the aid to communities in need in their area. In the region of Kherson, where bridges have been destroyed and transportation routes are difficult to access, UBTS volunteers have had to transport aid by boat, across the river.
COUNSELING HELP ON THE WAY
In the near future, Ilona is looking forward to the program UBTS is building in providing psychological and therapeutic counseling to victims of the war. They’ll do this with help from an American team of licensed professionals that will be arriving soon. Many of the people UBTS interacts with, especially children, have faced significant trauma. Staff and students will receive training on how best to support these individuals. Additionally, UBTS is developing a program to help displaced Ukrainians in Poland (of which there are around 3 million) to assimilate and adapt to their new life. Currently, UBTS is looking for financial support as they continue to provide life-saving humanitarian aid. In addition, they are searching for long-term U.S.-base