David Binkley in the News!

From CBS 4 in Gainesville, Florida:

North Central Florida couple helps children displaced by war in Ukraine

by Julianne Amaya Wednesday, April 27th 2022

The United Nations reports since the end of February, over five million refugees have fled Ukraine.

"The people of Ukraine are strong, they're independent-minded, and they don't want to be under the domination of any other nation," David Binkley said.

According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, most refugees went to Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, or Poland.

"These people had all lost their homes from the various bombings that were going on among Ukrainian towns and villages. Just basically lost everything," David said.

David and his wife Galina flew to Warsaw, Poland, to help children and mothers find safety.

"We were just there to show the love of God to these people. That's what they need to see that we care, we love them."

Galina is originally from Ukraine. Her family still lives in a war-torn country.

"Constantly under bombing, but they are not going anywhere," Galina said.

The Binkley's grandson was able to flee Ukraine, but with a cost.

"He is eight years old. he still has nightmares."

They say he was leaving on a bus when he watched artillery hit the bus, killing most of the people on board.

"We were thankful to God that we were able to see them while we were in Poland," Galina said.

According to UNICEF, 4.3 million children have been displaced. That's more than half of the country's child population.

The Binkley's say the Ukrainian children still hold on to hope.

"The parents will try to tell the little children that we go traveling for fun. And children say, I don't want any more fun. I want to go see my daddy. It is so heartbreaking."

The Binkley's post stories of their mission work on a blog.

The married couple of 27 years plans to return to Ukraine to continue helping.