Founder of Metro World Child, Dr. Bill Wilson from NYC rescued stranded orphans and children in Ukraine

Almost got on the same convoy to Kyiv that the killed American journalist was on, he urged people to help with resources to rescue children and women.

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, March 15, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Backstories from the Frontlines in Ukraine

As refugees flee Ukraine, Metro World Child (Metro) Founder and Senior Pastor, Dr. Bill Wilson, 73, has brought a team into the country with supplies to help children and orphans who have been stranded amid the fighting.

Metro, which runs the largest Sunday School in the world, sent a team with Pastor Bill from New York City on March 10. They drove through Slovakia into Ukraine. “The need is the call,” said Pastor Bill. “If you can see the need, that’s God’s call for you today. At this painful time in world history, the children certainly need our help. They need it urgently. Many orphans have been abandoned and people there are running out of food, water, and medical supplies very quickly. As Christians, we need to step up to help. We need to act now!”

As he crossed the border to the city of Uzhhorod in western Ukraine, Pastor Bill met with the director of Nehemiah Project, Miss Tetiana Machabeli, and formed a partnership to evacuate children and women across the border in buses.

Pastor Bill also received a call for help from a Ukrainian pastor who runs an orphanage for crippled children 30 miles north of Mariupol. The children were stuck in the orphanage basement with little food, water, and medical supplies. The Metro team was able to rescue 14 children, then relocate them to Moldova. Sadly, 3 children died of starvation before the rescue team arrived. “This is not a game,” Pastor Bill said through tears. “It is life and death, and it is urgent. This is why I am determined to be on the ground to help.”

The team then went on to another city, Ternopil, 80 miles east of Ukraine’s second-largest city Lviv, to a church that serves as a refugee camp for families and children. In another incident, Pastor Bill escaped death. He had gotten the last seat in a van going to Kyiv, but due to the challenges in communication, he was not picked up as planned. Two days later, he saw on the news that a Russian sniper had killed an American journalist in that convoy which he was supposed to be in. The journalist was killed at the checkpoint before the convoy rolled into Kyiv.

“I’ve been shot at by a Russian sniper in Syria several years ago when I went there to help the children. I know the danger,” Pastor Bill said. “I’ve been wearing my bullet-proof vest in Ukraine, which had saved my life in Syria. I am ready to do whatever it takes to save lives again.”

Still in Ukraine at this time, Pastor Bill urges people around the world to help. “Not everyone needs to come to Ukraine personally with supplies like us, but we need basic resources to continue to be sent to keep these children alive. The babies do not even have powdered milk and diapers. You know the urgency. I hope many of you will help now!”

If you like to help by supporting Metro World Child, go to www.metroworldchild.org/ukraine


About Metro World Child
Metro World Child is a global, faith-based humanitarian organization dedicated to serving children throughout New York City, various urban centers and rural communities around the world.

Metro World Child was founded in 1980 in Brooklyn, New York by Reverend Dr. Bill Wilson. His original passion when he moved to New York was to reach at-risk, inner-city children exposed to violence, crime, drugs, gangs, neglect, and poverty. As an abandoned child himself by his alcoholic mom when he was 12 at the street corner in St Petersburg, Florida, he knows the desperation of hopelessness at a young age. His heart was to reach children through high-impact, fun, and exciting Sunday School services.

Now, 40 years later, Metro World Child is still headquartered in the heart of Brooklyn, reaching thousands of inner-city children and their families through fun and engaging Sunday School services, personal visitation, and mentorship programs in the 5 boroughs of New York City. Before Covid, Metro served on average over 20,000 children in New York each week. Their global outreach now is much greater though; they are currently in a total of 20 countries, reaching over 250,000 children weekly. Metro World Child is now the largest Sunday School in the world.

Yenni Wu
Metro World Child
+1 347-828-5982
yenniw@mwc.org