A conversation of faith, commitment and courage with God's preacher from Kharkiv

The front line is only a short drive from the center of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second biggest city. Even now, with the war raging for more than two years, it remains home to almost 1.5 million people. Bomb and missile strikes are daily. Each attack takes more people’s lives, but, paradoxically, seems to only make Kharkiv’s resolve stronger.

Peter Loboiko is one of those who took upon themselves the mission of helping people make it through these difficult times. He is a pastor in a church in Kharkiv, and often reaching out to faith groups is the only way to gain access to mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services, especially in hard-to-reach areas such as communities close to the frontlines.

Peter left his hometown for only a few days to attend World Vision’s MHPSS training in Lviv, on the opposite side of the country.

The training supported by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, ACTED Ukraine and the Ukraine Response Consortium is aimed at training Ukrainian faith leaders on focused, non-specialized psychosocial support interventions.

It includes evidence-based low intensity methods developed by the World Health Organization, namely Problem Management Plus (PM+), Self Help Plus (SH+), and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). 

We sat down with Peter, during one of the breaks in the training sessions. He tells us about how he woke up to the sounds of war early in the morning on 24 February 2022, and has barely rested since. 

Peter Loboiko: At 4:00 in the morning my family and I were awakened by explosions. Our building has been damaged, our neighborhood practically destroyed. My family lives in the western part of Ukraine now - my wife and my children. I continue my work in Kharkiv. Before the war we used to serve people in the church. When it started, I knew I had to help with evacuation, feed people in the basements and in the bomb shelters. I continue this work, except now it’s mostly counseling: advising, emotional support, prayers, and humanitarian help.

World Vision: What motivated you to stay in Kharkiv and not leave together with your family?

Peter Loboiko: If I’m honest with you, before the war, when there were rumors that the war would start, I thought I would leave. But when it began, I couldn’t, I physically could not. When I imagined leaving, I felt physically sick: my legs would go numb, I felt uneasy and nauseous. I felt I was needed there.

My wife and I started providing help on the very first day. Our ground-floor apartment served as a sort of haven for mothers and children on higher floors. It was impossible to stay up there. It was terrifying. They would go down to our place and stay overnight. We'd give them tea and candy. Everyone would be sleeping on the floor in the corridor, and you had to step over sleeping children and moms if you wanted to go to the bathroom. Without even realizing it, we got involved in this work of helping people.

Then we learned that people were hiding in the basements of nearby buildings. We had a lot of food in storage because before the war we used to sell frozen dumplings and pancakes. That used to be my wife’s business. So, we had around 300 kilograms of food. We started cooking and delivering meals to people hiding in basements - the ones I knew were not very far. Going far away was too risky. The shelling was so intense that even if you went somewhere close, say, 400 meters, you would have to drop to the ground at least three times while delivering that food. People in those basements were even more terrified.

Later we started evacuating people from the hot spots, from where the emergency services and the police wouldn’t go. People would ask us, “When are you going to leave?” I would say “When we evacuate the last person out of Kharkiv.” However, many people decided to stay, and we stayed to serve them. Before the war I preached to people. My neighbors knew that I am a man of God, a pastor. To take off and leave, to me meant to betray the people to whom I preached about God and faith.

World Vision: How can Mental Health and Psychosocial Support training help you and other faith leaders serving in communities close to the front lines?

Peter Loboiko: The Bible says that the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek guidance from his words. Even before the war people looked at priests, the people of the church, as the source of faith, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. In times of crisis, there is even a bigger demand. Therefore, it is crucial that priests and pastors are qualified. Otherwise, you can do harm by giving the wrong advice. The Bible does not have a verbatim answer to every question people ask. There are times when you need to understand the person’s psychology, their trauma, and give the right counsel, the right guidance. Then you can actually help. On top of spiritual help, help through prayer, you must give the right psychological support.

World Vision: What are the most common problems people need help with?

Peter Loboiko: There are times when people just come to me and cry. I will just stand there and let them cry on my shoulder, not saying anything, just being there for them. Afterwards people thank me as if I provided them with some immense help, while all I did was stand there and let them cry next to me.

Often, I talk to parents, mothers whose children are serving on the frontlines. A mother will look into your eyes, and in them she hopes to see faith that everything will be fine with her son. This requires me to be alert all the time, not give in to fear.

World Vision: How can you help others while going through the same distress as they do?

Peter Loboiko: The knowledge I received here helps. The previous World Vision course was aimed at us, at restoring our own capacity. I began paying more attention to my own condition, how to be more stable, more resilient. It helped me understand what I might have been doing wrong in the past.

Sadly, we are used to the news of people dying. When you read about one or two casualties you just keep scrolling. When it’s five or six, you’ll read to the end. And when it’s over fifteen, it gets devastating.

I lost a friend in a missile attack on a shopping center just a few days ago. I know that place. I have been there hundreds of times. And the last time I saw my friend was at that same store, at the checkout. He came up to talk. We talked, parted, and two weeks later this happened.

It is hard back home, it really is. The knowledge that at any moment, without warning, you may die. In our region you first hear the explosion, and only then the air raid siren. You are completely defenseless. It takes 40 seconds between the launch of a missile and its impact. In 40 seconds, in a minute, what can you do?

When such heavy attacks happen, I get messages and calls from friends from other parts of the country and abroad. They ask me how they can help, and I say, “You have already helped.” A simple “How are you?” is already helpful. You don’t need to do anything else. And there is nothing you can do, really. You cannot stop the shells from falling. But you have shown that you care. That is the biggest help.

I came to this training not only to learn to help others, but also to get a breath of fresh air for myself. It is an opportunity for us to learn, get some inspiration, and go back to serving and helping our people.

Interview and photos by Oleksandr Shpygunov, Communications Officer