The Guardian – YouthReach International

As war broke out across Ukraine, Kostya Voropayev put his life on the line to get 37 orphaned children out of a YouthReach International shelter to safety, as well as his own wife and toddler. 

Because so many Ukrainians were trying to flee the Russian invasion, it took Kostya and the kids eight hours to travel 50 miles to the border. After a 12-hour wait at the border, the group continued on a 40-hour trip across Poland to their final destination in western Germany. 

As war rages on, a return to Ukraine remains a distant hope. But Kostya and his team at YouthReach International have dedicated themselves to the next stage of this journey: providing a safe and normal life for the kids in Germany, and healing from the trauma of war and displacement.