Hope Spot 3 – Powered by Pancakes

I’m feeling a bit ‘battered’.

I’ve been busy making Ukrainian pancakes called Olanushki.

They feature cinnamon and raisins, and something I’d never heard of before – kefir, a kind of yoghurt. They’re so delicious, it was hard to keep up with demand …

The reason for these Ukrainian pancakes is that ALWS is launching 100 days of action to help children and families hurt by the war in Ukraine …

… and who now seem to be in danger of being forgotten by the world.

The war in Ukraine is hurting families in countries like Somalia too, because they rely on grain from Ukraine and Russia for their food supply. (Especially now when floods have destroyed thousands of hectares of crops in Somalia.)

So, why pancakes?

Pancakes are a favourite breakfast food in Ukraine.

With Shrove Tuesday – Pancake Day* – coming up on Tuesday 13 February …

… pancakes seemed a simple way to remind people that on Tuesday 24 February, it will be two years since the war in Ukraine started.

We’ve even reached out to Lutheran schools across Australia, with pancake batter, inviting them to hold a Pancake Day for Ukraine.

That’s not all.

On Saturday 11 May, in Brisbane, we are holding a Walk My Way for Ukraine.

To launch the Walk, our ALWS Executive Director got behind the fry-pan to flip pancakes to encourage Queenslanders to sign up for Walk My Way Ukraine.

The 12.5 kilometre or 3 kilometre walk along the beautiful Brisbane River will raise money to:

• help Ukrainian children, now safe in Poland, to recover from trauma and go to school
• renovate 1,500 bombed apartments in Kharkiv, so people can be warm in winter
• provide families who have lost everything with life-essentials

You can be part of this ALWS effort to help children of war by:

• joining Walk My Way Ukraine
• holding your own Pancake Day on Shrove Tuesday, or the two year anniversary on 24 February, using these Ukrainian recipes
• donating to help children of war – not just from Ukraine, but other ‘forgotten’ wars in places like Somalia and Myanmar.

Together, over the next 12 months,
ALWS has plans to help more
than 210,000 children hurt by war.

These little ones  are the innocent victims, and your love coming to life through ALWS will give them the life-restoring help they need, and reassure them they are not forgotten.

Our prayer is that the power of pancakes can kick-start our campaign.

Thank you for not ‘flipping out’, or feeling too ‘battered’ to keep on caring …

… that’s why you are a blessing ALWayS!

* Shrove Tuesday

You probably know this already, but the tradition of eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday is because it’s the day before the Christian season of Lent. Many people choose to fast during Lent, and pancakes were a way of using up eggs, milk and flour before that time of fasting.