Now that we are about a month into the war between The Ukraine and Russia I wanted to share some thoughts with you and update you, as best as we can, as to the current situation and how it impacts what we are doing here at AFA.
I also want to sincerely thank all of you who so generously donated funds to help those impacted by the war. We have already sent out the first round of funding and we will be sending out a second round very soon, again our sincere thanks to your generosity.
Since the day this terrible war began I have spoken with many different individuals, mainly from the Ukraine, but some from Russia as well, virtually every day. As you may know AFA has its own offices in Ukraine (unfortunately our office in Nikolaev was just recently destroyed by bombs, thankfully there appeared to be no injuries from that blast), as well as many different independent affiliates with whom we have worked together with for many years.
All of these wonderful individuals are dealing with this awful crisis as best they can and all have different perspectives and different life situations from which they are forced to make very personal and possibly life and death choices.
They have limited information from which to operate and make decisions, all while under ungodly stress levels. One of the most astonishing things that has so greatly impressed me (and humbled me as well) is the raw courage and resolve the people of the Ukraine have demonstrated. These people are dealing with a brutal war, with the prospect of leaving everything they have worked for behind and leaving family members for countries and destinations totally unknown and foreign to them.
Even if they make the choice to leave to a safer place such as Poland or Germany, with nothing but maybe a suitcase or backpack, there is no guarantee they will reach there safely or even alive. Yet when I speak with them, to a person, they are optimistic, strong, thoughtful, caring, patriotic, and determined. They even laugh and make fun of some situations, even though inside they are very fearful of what may come of their families and themselves. There are just not enough words to describe the amazing character of all the people in the Ukraine with whom I have had the honor to interact.
I have known some of these very special people for over 20 years, and it is so difficult to see what they are now forced to experience. Some of them may have helped you to meet that special someone, maybe given you advice or a shoulder to cry on, gotten you out of a jam etc., etc. They are special and they loved doing what they did and still do - helping women and men from all around the globe to connect and in many cases form life-lasting relationships.
We are doing what we can to assist all of them as best we can and we will continue to do so until life gets back to normal, whatever that new normal may end up being. If any of you worked with any of these special individuals and would like to assist them in any way please reach out to Michelle or Anna at the Phoenix office and they will give you more info as to how to do so.
Millions of Ukrainians have been displaced due to the war, with many leaving for other countries such as Poland, Germany, Romania, Moldova and others. We do still have staff members in the Ukraine who continue to work, and we also have many that are now outside of the country and also continue to work.
We are doing our best to continue with correspondence, phone and skype calls and even personal introductions. Some women have relocated outside the Ukraine and we have already been able to facilitate some meetings and will be doing more in the future. If you are in touch with someone you believe is no longer living in the Ukraine and you want to try and meet please contact the Phoenix office and we will do our best to assist.
We have also been trying to contact the women from the Ukraine and verify that, given all that has happened, they do still have an interest in remaining on the site and meeting someone. We also want to try and verify where they are now residing and other logistical details.
You may have noticed that we stopped adding new profiles from the area given the circumstances, however we have had several women who do want to join and are interested in meeting so we will be adding those new profiles in the weeks and months to come.
We still strongly advise and caution you to not engage in a lot of correspondence with women you may not be able to meet for a long period of time. It is always best to only use correspondence in conjunction with a plan of meeting in person and doing so in a relatively short time period so you do not waste time and resources on just correspondence.
Unfortunately, at least for the time being, there will be no Group Tours or Clubs in Eastern Europe. So our normal advice of going over and meeting a large number of women while you are there via Group tours or Club’s is just not going to be possible for some time.
However, if there is someone that you feel you would like to meet and she has relocated to another country that may be a possibility. If that is the case please contact the office and we will do our best to assist.
Thank You for your understanding and patience during these very difficult and trying times,